


Good Fortunes: An Oxventure Prequel Tale

by tnnyoh



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, OutsideXbox, Oxventure
Genre: Family Issues, Father-Son Relationship, Flashbacks, Gen, Pre-Canon, Prequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2020-08-18 23:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20199937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tnnyoh/pseuds/tnnyoh
Summary: Seventeen year old Percival Milquetoast is bored with his life as the heir of his family's legacy, constantly disappointing his father and never living up to their name. Percival is pushed to run away to start a new life of adventure, but it doesn't go so well.





	1. Perseverance

Percy sat in the library chair with his feet propped up on the table, he was staring at the ceiling and he sighed. It wasn’t quite raining outside yet, but it was threatening to and he couldn’t even go for a walk around the property, or tend to the horses. 

“I do believe your father would be quite mad if he knew you were shoving your feet up on the tables” a voice said, it was the voice of Belinda, one of the house staff. 

“I do believe my father would believe me if I told him you were rude to his son and heir and he should fire you” he said smugly 

The woman audibly gasped and put her hand to her mouth “I knew you were quite a rude child-”

“Not a child, also bored now. Can you leave?”

“I have half a mind to-”

“Aw” Percy said “I’m glad you know your worth, Belinda” He gave her a little wave as she huffed out of the room. 

He closed his eyes and let the silence lull him into a light sleep until he felt his feet being physically moved from the table, he opened his eyes with a start to see his father standing there, looking more sour than usual. 

“Hello, Father” he said sheepishly “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep, guess I got too comfortable”

“Right, well no matter. Do you wish to come with me to Arichbald Leeves’ home?”

“Why are you asking me this?” 

“Because I do not trust you alone in the house if you are going to bully the staff”

Percy gasped “Excuse me?”

“You are excused”

“Not what I meant”

Percy stood up and crossed his arms, staring his father right in the eyes “I was not bullying Belinda, I was simply telling the truth of the matter - that I am your heir and she should be nice to me”

“Percival, you don’t get to pull out the heir card but not live up to what that entails.” he put a hand on his son’s shoulder “Now come along with me, if I keep an eye on you, you won’t be able to get into so much trouble” 

“I wasn’t in trouble” he said incredulously

“You are now” his father said, and if Percy wasn’t mistaken he could have sworn he saw the ghost of a grin flash across his father’s face. 

“I don’t particularly care for Mr Leeves’ or his home”

“Then be about with his children”

“But they hate me” 

His father sighed “Percy, you think everyone hates you”

“You, especially” Percy said bitterly and he crossed his arms as he followed his father out of the manor and onto the grounds where a carriage was waiting for them up front. 

His father carefully walked down the steps as now the rain was coming down and it was making the stone a bit slick. When he was sat in the carriage he looked back to his son, extending his hand out “Percival, please” 

“Fine” he said reluctantly and covered his head with his hand as he walked the short distance to the carriage and sat opposite his father, the horses started moving and he could smell the overwhelming fumes of wet dirt. 

“Do I have to hang about with his kids? They are absolute bores” 

“If you don’t wish to hang around them, ask the Archibald if you can peruse his library, but please, and I stress this the most, do not break anything if he allows you”

“You know” Percy said “I’ve read about people who don’t have to follow the rules, or ask if they have permission to touch simple things” He watched his father, the man was now reading from a book he had taken with him, Percy thought all of his fathers books were boring and would often rearrange them on the shelves just to annoy the man.

“Father”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to know about the stories?”

“Stories about what?” his father asked absentmindedly, he put the book down suddenly and looked at his son “Not this again, Percival, I let this go when you were a child but you are a young man now”

“I’m seventeen, father. I’m still quite young, young enough to start a new life somewhere, young enough to be a great adventurer” 

“Percival, we have discussed this. You are my heir, you have responsibilities to the Milquetoast legacy when I die”

“When is that going to be, again? I need to put it in my calendar”

“Not a funny joke, son”

“Not a joke, father”

The rain started to come down harder in the square as they passed through, the horses gently clopping along the cobbled streets and the driver occasionally sighing deeply as he heard the father and son bickering in the back of his carriage. 

Percy knew that many in the village knew of his disdain for his father, they had known since he was a ‘troublesome’ young boy, and because of this, Percival was never taken seriously in the village which he grew up in, and many of the other people his age did not take a liking to him.

“It is very disrespectful for you to speak to your father that way”

“You know, I’ve read stories about other lives, other children, people my age who didn’t have to live like this. Why do I have to live like this?”

“Those children are of ill-means, you should feel very lucky and fortunate to have what you have, a stately home, people who take care of your every whim, a father who-” 

“Yes, I feel most lucky to be shunned by half of our village” Percy said, interrupting his father, another sign of disrespect. Though there was no time for his father to remind him of this fact as they stopped in front of the Archibald’s estate. 

Percy remembered coming here when he was a boy as well, it looked much bigger back then, but now he could see that the estate was lackluster and much smaller than the Milquetoast manor. He made a face as his father got out of the carriage and helped him down, something he hadn’t done since Percy was a child.

“I can get down on my own, father”

“I do not trust you to do anything on your own currently, we will discuss this conversation back at home later, but for now-” Percy wrenched his hand away from his father and straightened up. 

“For now, you shall be on your best behavior. No snide comments, no giggling at things that are not funny”

“You don’t want me to laugh now?” 

“Percival” he gave his son a warning look

“Sorry” Percy said, rolling his eyes at his father and turning his attention to the jovial man approaching them. 

Archibald Matthew Roger Leeves was a very rich man, not as rich as Percy’s father, but he was well off enough to afford an extravagant wardrobe, and a room dedicated to bows for his Pomeranian. He stuck his pale thin hand out for Percy’s father.

“Long time no see, Lord”

“I do have a name, Matthew”

“Yes, but it’s simply been that long. I cannot remember your name, I do remember the name of your young son, of course” He looked over at Percy and beamed excitedly 

“You have grown up so much! My wife is simply going to be in awe of how grown you are”

“Hello, Sir” Percy said, wanting nothing more than to back away from the man and run back to the estate, but before he knew it, the man was ushering him and his father into his mansion. 

The foyer of the mansion was thinner than the one at Percy’s home, not even enough room for a grand staircase, the home looked quite different since the last time Percy had been here. He looked around the small entrance area while his father spoke to Mr. Leeves. 

“Archibald, sir” Percy said, interrupting his father in the middle of a sentence “I was wondering if I could look through your library”

“My library?” 

Lord Milquetoast put his arm around his son and nodded “My young Percival is quite the reader” 

“Ah, I do love a good book, It’s nice to see there are some young people out there who appreciate a story as well, what kind of books do you favor, young man?”

“I like history books, fictional stories about adventure, I’ve been reading a lot of books about sailors”

“Oh, sailors? Yes, what an industrious job that would be” 

Percy’s father snorted “Yes, industrious is the term I would use for that, gallivanting about on the sea? It’s not quite a job, I’d say”

“No no, it’s a job, piracy on the other hand is, well let’s just say it leaves a bad taste in my mouth” 

Percy shifted his shoulders in an attempt to remove his father’s hand from him, but he stopped when he realized it would be a form of ‘acting out’ 

“I’ve actually read quite a bit about pirates” he said “I think they are amazing”

His father let out a joyless chuckle “Yes, Percy’s had quite the imagination since he was a child, always rushing to me with new bits of information he’s gained from the stories he’s heard from the townspeople or books he’s been given, but I do hope he realizes this is real life, not a fantasy”

The Archibald nodded in agreement and looked at Percy “You’ve put those dreams of piracy out of your head, I do hope? They are criminals, my dear boy”

“Oh, of course. It was simply a silly thing to pass the time with when I was a child, I know better now”

“Yes, Percival has different dreams now, do you not?” his father asked him

“I want to.. take…responsibilities… legacy?” he said with a shrug

“Right, Matthew my friend, why don’t you have one of your staff show my Percival to the library?” 

“Of course” 

“Bennington” The Archibald called out, a man with graying hair approached from another room “Yes sir?”

“Please escort young Mr. Milquetoast to my libraries” 

“Of course, sir”

He beckoned Percy over to him “The library is just this way my young Sir” he said and they started to head down a hall off the main room

“Oh, and Percival” his father called out to him, he turned around “Do be good”

“I won’t!” 

*******************  
Later that evening at the Milquetoast Manor, the staff were preparing dinner, and Percival was sat at the table across from his father, who was preoccupied looking over some parchment he had.

“I thought you said it was rude to read at the table” 

“It is rude only when you do it, my son” he turned his attention back to his son “Speaking of, did you find anything of interest in the Archibald’s library?”

“No, not really. Just boring books on trading, some on gardening, and a lot of books with inappropriate subject matter” 

“Ah yes, best to avoid those types of books” 

“Unless I wish to have my own heir that I ignore or belittle” Percy said, leaning back in his chair until the front chair legs came up off the floor. This was something that he often did as a young child to annoy his father, it almost always ended with him falling and slamming his head on the floor. 

Tonight was no different.

“Now now Percy, you can’t have an heir if you are locked in your room for the rest of your life” 

“Real funny, Dad”

“Not a joke, son” 

Percy tried to slam the chair forward and down once more but instead, leaned too far back and caused the chair to fall all the way onto the floor, he slammed both the back of his head and his shoulder quite hard onto the floor and he heard the sounds of another chair scraping against the wooden floor, and the sound of his fathers shoes approaching him.

“Are you alright?” 

Percy blinked several times, his head was spinning and he felt like he was going to be sick, but he said nothing, if he threw up on his father, it would be the best day of his life. 

“Percival, I need you to answer me to know if you are alright”

He blinked again and tried to sit up, his father gently stopped him by placing a hand on his arm, shaking his head “No, getting up too fast will only make you feel worse” 

“I feel tired” 

His father turned away for a moment “Belinda!” he called for the woman, who had been in another room dusting, she poked her head around the door frame “What is it, Lord?” 

“Please send for the doctor right away” 

“Yes, Lord, of course” she hastened out of the hallway and presumably grabbed a coat off the rack before rushing out the door. 

Percy felt like the room was spinning, he kept closing his eyes even though he didn’t want to, he blinked again and then closed his eyes once more, struggling not to fall asleep. 

“Percy”

He blinked, his fathers voice sounded distant compared to the thudding sound n his ears. 

“I’m not…tired but..” 

“Percival, stop speaking, save your energy until the doctor arrives” 

Percy nodded, but his eyes felt heavy and he closed them anyway, all sound disappeared as he fell into a sleep. Only after being tapped and shaken several times, he was awake again, this time he was in his bed, a doctor was looking over him, and his father was standing against the opposite wall. 

“Is he alright?” 

“He seems to be in good fortune” the doctor said and straightened up “He’s suffered a bit of a head injury, minor concussion. He’ll be fine, but I would suggest a day of bed rest” he approached Percy’s father expectantly and Lord Milquetoast reached into his pocket for several gold coins, dropping them into the mans hand like they meant nothing. 

The doctor happily walked to the door and turned back “Do feel better, young Percival” he said with a smile as he shut the door behind him.

“Percy, you’re awake” 

“Ye-yeah, how long was I asleep?” he asked, confusion running through his mind, how did he get here in this bed? 

“About an hour, the doctor says you are well though, simply hurt your head quite badly. If you hadn’t been playing around at the dinner table, none of this would have happened.” 

“Have you not eaten?” 

“What a ridiculous question, I was sick to my stomach with worry over you, there was no room for dinner” 

“I wasn’t trying to knock the chair over” 

“Then you have a natural talent for it, now that I know you are well I shall be in my office.” 

“What about my dinner?” 

“I will have someone bring it to you” his father said sternly before exiting the room and leaving his son all alone. 

Percy sighed and laid his head back down on the pillow, somehow he had managed to ruin a chair, dinner, and make his father cross with him. 

He sat alone for a while waiting for someone to bring up his food, when it didn’t happen within twenty minutes, he pulled the covers off of him and headed over to the double windows on the other side of the room, the light was still out as it was only mid-evening. He closed the curtains and walked over to the full length mirror that was kept in the corner, it wasn’t his mirror, but sometimes his room became a storage area for other things the staff didn’t know what to do with. 

He looked at his reflection, he was quite an average looking young man with pale skin, a mess of dark brown hair and blue eyes. His head was also wrapped in a couple lengths of bandage, and possibly because the doctor had no proper medical training, he stuck a pin in the other end of the bandage to connect them without having to tuck it in, a pin that fell dangerously close to his eye. 

He quickly removed the pin and tucked the other side of the bandage underneath itself, making sure it was secure before leaving the room and making his way down the staircase to the ground level where he ran into Belinda.

“What are you doing out of bed?” She said, pausing in her brooming 

“I’m sneaking off to my father’s office, I wish to speak with him” 

“He is quite busy, he has asked not to be disturbed”

“I’m his son” Percy said incredulously

“It’s your funeral” she shrugged and let him pass without another word, he turned another corner and into the main foyer, a few paces left and he was at the door of his fathers office.

How many times had he been here before, standing in front of this door waiting for… waiting for something.

Too many.

He knocked lightly on the door “Father” he said in a quiet voice. “Can I please come in?”

“I am quite busy, Percy, and you should be resting” 

“Please?” 

“Come in”

Percy opened the door slowly, it started to creak loudly and he winced until the door was open all the way and the sound stopped, he shut it gently behind him and quietly walked to the chair in front of his fathers desk, sitting cross legged on it. 

“I wish to apologize for messing about with the chair during dinner” 

“There is no need to apologize, Percival, you are simply doing what you are best at. Childish and inappropriate behavior, and let us not forget disrespecting your father” 

“Well, if my father showed me any respect… or cared about me at all”

“I sat with you for an hour waiting for the doctor, if I do not care for you I would have considered it a waste of time and left to other things” 

He stared at his son, almost as if he were challenging him “Is there something more you wish to say?” he set his pen down on the desk

“I can’t think of a single thing” 

“Then please return to your room and rest, Percy. You’ve been hurt, you need to regain your strength” 

Percy obliged and silently rose from the chair, taking the couple of steps forward to the door before his father called out for him “Percival”

“Yes father?”

“You’ve left the chair askew, please fix it. I know you have better manners than that”

“Of course, as I am part of the house staff. Is that why you treat me so poorly?” 

His father rose from his chair and came out from behind the desk, adjusting the chair and then turning to face his son “Percival, don’t be ridiculous.” 

Percy turned away from his father and frowned “According to you I am always ridiculous, I don’t appreciate my valid feelings of neglect being turned into a minuscule problem” 

“Neglect? Percival, you have everything a young man could possibly want.”

“Except freedom”

“You are free to leave this estate whenever you please, we all know how many times you’ve threatened to run away”

“One day I will, you know” Percy said quietly 

“And I will bring you back”

“You’d never come to look for me” Percy scoffed, before he could make it to the door his father pulled him back slightly by the sleeve of his shirt, he placed a hand on his shoulder 

“Percy, listen to me, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to find you if you’ve gone, and to bring you home, Do you understand me?”

“Yes father” he nodded “Can I go back to my room now?”

“I will escort you back to your room, I do not trust you with this head injury to move about on your own” 

“I am not a child, father” 

“Then why, my son, do you act like one?” he gently took his arm and led him out the office, back out into the hall and up the grand staircase. Percy wrenched his arm away from his father “Why don’t you drag me by the ear?” he said sarcastically.

“I believe I’ll reserve that for when you are being incredibly troublesome”

When they came to the end of the hall where Percy’s room was, his father stood by the door to make sure he would get into bed and rest.

“I don’t understand why I have to rest, I’m not sick”

“You’ve had an injury, the doctor says you need a few days to heal. Now I will be in my office, please get some rest” He said, shutting the door behind him as he left the room. Percy didn’t think he would sleep, but the moment his head hit the pillow he was out.


	2. Perceptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival and his father head out to spend quality time together, but Percy meets someone who needs his help.

“It is nice to see you out of bed, Percival” his father said before taking a small bite of his breakfast “The weekend has been long, but with it behind us, I’m going into the village today, I think you could use the fresh air”

After hitting his head, the doctor had advised him to stay in bed and rest as much as possible, Percy felt as if he were on lockdown, as if him falling was orchestrated as some sort of punishment for being cruel to the staff.

Winston, their butler helped him out of bed that morning and helped him get into the dining room chair “I‌ can walk on my own Winston”

“Of course” he said with a slight bow as he went to rearrange the silverware on the other side of the table.

“You know, you don’t _need _to do that, father doesn’t even notice”

“‌I‌ notice a bit more than you think Percy” He quietly dismissed Winston and took another bite of breakfast before setting his fork down. “What do you say, my son?‌ Do you wish to leave the manor and come with me to the village proper?”

“I don’t like it there, stupid… idiots”

“Percy, stop being difficult”

“Fine, I’ll go but… I’m going to complain about it the whole time”

Staying true to his word, Percy complained about a number of things on their walk outside the estate and to the village square, it was a quiet day with many people already opening their shops. His father took him into one of the trinket shops and had a peruse around the items, Percy simply stood by the door with his arms crossed and a sour expression.

“Percival, why don’t you look for something you’d like.”

“You’re just going to make fun of it”

“Stop being ridiculous” he said, eyeing a mini statue carved out of stone of what looked like a large bird.

“I don’t _care!” _a woman’s voice screamed from up front, it sounded as though she had been crying “There is no excuse for what happened and I‌ had to sit there and LISTEN to the lecture”

“You did kind of bring this on yourself, I‌ _told_ you what would happen if you did this, and what did you go and do?”

The woman sobbed loudly and Percy turned to where she was, a woman only two years his senior with long blonde hair was stood at the counter incoherently sobbing words only able to be understood by the man behind the counter

“No, you are my daughter and I do love you but you’ve made a mistake and you have to live with it”

At this, she started sobbing harder “Live?!” She sniffled “How can you say that after what I’ve seen, after all I’ve done!”

“Excuse me”‌ Percy said, approaching her “Not to be rude, but why are you upset?”

She turned to him and sniffled “I’ve lost something important to me, and I can’t get it back”

“Surely you could just buy another?”‌

Her father let out a hearty laugh “Not my Ula, she’s gone and cursed her boyfriend, he’s now a goat”

“A… a goat?”

“I‌ was going to marry him!”‌

“You can still marry him, he just won’t be able to perform in the bedroom” Percy said with a shrug, unfortunately his father had heard him and tapped him gently on the shoulder

“Percival, do not speak that way, that is vile”

“I’m sorry, how was I born again?”‌

His father looked momentarily taken aback, but he regained his composure quickly, and turned to the shop owner “Hello sir”

“Holy potatoes!” the man said “You’re Lord Milquetoast!”

Ula’s eyes widened “Oh, I‌ knew I‌ recognized you, you’re Percival.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake, he eyed it for a moment, hoping it wasn’t covered in snot, before obliging

“If you can part with your father for a moment, I have a couple of questions to ask you”

“Can I-” Percy began to ask, but his father cut him off

“You and Ula may speak outside the shop, in front of the shop, and remember she is engaged to be married”

Percy rolled his eyes and Ula laughed as the two left the shop, he shrugged “Sorry about Lord Stuffyface over there, he’s obnoxious”

“Well, it comes with the territory I‌ think, not that I’m saying you are obnoxious”‌

“Why not, everyone else does.”

“That’s a bit sad”‌ She said, and after a few awkward moments of silence she spoke again “Anyway, my husband to be, Bradley Seabury bought a cursed item because I….” she started tearing up again “I‌ suggested the shop without realizing it was only a shop that sold cursed items”

“Why is there a shop that only sells cursed items?”

“Pirates!” she said, collapsing into heavy sobs. He rolled his eyes and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder until she calmed down.

“There are pirates in Abelforth?”‌ he asked, she nodded and pointed towards the harbor “There’s always some coming in to port so they can sell treasures they’ve found or things they’ve stolen, but the problem is Captain Morgan is a right jerk and he opened up a shop here in Abelforth specifically to trick people into buying cursed wares because he’s a money hungry, stupid, selfish, pirate”

“And you’re in love with him, aren’t you?”‌

“Wait, what?! Unbelievable that you would say something so horrible, so disgusting.. I‌ would never love a man with such long, beautiful… eyelashes”

“Uh, Ula?”

“Yes?”

“You’re in love with him?!” he asked incredulously

“I‌ can’t help it!”‌‌ she said “I‌ just… After he sold Bradley the cursed ring I..had a chat with him about it in the tavern and he’s such a nice man”

“He’s obviously not that nice”

“The problem is, I… he wants me to _leave_ my Bradley, that is the only way he’s going to give me the secret to reversing the curse”

“Okay, where is this Captain Morgan? I could talk to him, I’ve been known to be pretty persuasive about things”

“I‌ mean, alright, I guess it couldn’t hurt… He usually hangs out in the tavern, it’s the one right on the harbor… The Dreadful Eyeball”

“We sure have a lot of taverns in one village”

“Lot of drunks”‌ she said with a shrug and turned to go back inside the shop, Percy followed behind her.

“Father, can we go, I’m bored”

“In a minute, Percival”

“Actually, father. If you don’t mind, I would like to go to the harbor and watch some of the ships come in”

His father turned to him and crossed his arms “Percy, you aren’t reverting back to your childhood habits, are you?”‌

Percy shook his head “No no, of course not. I’m simply interested in the lives of the lesser people” he gave a small smirk and his father relented

“Alright, but please be back at the manor before dark, or I will send Belinda to find you, and she won’t be nice about it”

“Aye aye, Captain” He said before turning to the door and opening it

“Percy!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you over the scurvy!” he shouted as he rushed across the square and towards the steps leading to the harbor, when he arrived he saw several large bearded men heading towards a rickety looking building that he assumed was the tavern. He came in at the same time as them and looked around.

It was dark, smelled of urine and hard alcohol and it made him almost choke, is this really what adventurers did?

“I’m looking for Captain Morgan” he shouted out among the chatter and loud music being played by a traveling music troupe in the corner. Everyone suddenly got very quiet, and started turning around to see who was asking about this man, speaking in hushed whispers

“Isn’t that the lord’s son?”

“Oh my goodness, what’s he even doing here?”

“That doesn’t look like the Lord’s son!”

The sound of a chair scraping against the wooden floor broke the whispers and a man stood up, he was tall, had dark curls of brown hair atop his head, and he had an air of mystery about him. He looked quite young as well, possibly the same age as Ula.

“I’m Captain Morgan, who the hell asking?” he started, and then he looked at Percy, inspecting him for a moment “I’ve seen your face before.”

“I’m uh… I’m not.. um” Percy stuttered, unsure of what to say and remembering very clearly that this man was a hardened criminal and thief who probably had loads of knives on him at this very moment.

“Are you.. did you steal something from me?”

“No, I… I’m the Lord’s son”

“Ohh”‌‌ Captain Morgan laughed heartily “Hell, kid you look like you’re about to have a heart attack, why don’t you sit down, I’ll get us a couple of drinks, and you can tell me what the hell an aristocrat is doing talkin’ to pirates”

He lead Percy over to a booth near the back of the establishment, past tables of men playing games where they had to avoid stabbing their finger, but they were also presumably incredibly drunk, so Percy wasn’t sure how well their chances would fair. He sat down and watched Morgan sidle up to the bar to purchase two tankards full of ale.

He came back over and sat on the opposite side, setting down a tankard in front of Percy.

“Now what are you doing in here?‌‌ This place is for adventurers, for sailors, not for aristocrats and Lord’s sons”

“Hey!” Percy scoffed “I could be any of those things and I could probably do them better than you”

The captain eyed him and laughed “Alright, alright. Stop being so defensive, that’s not a good look”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to constantly defend myself if everyone would stop seeing me as such a joke”

The man took a sip of ale and wiped his face “Wow, the Lord’s not very nice, is he?‌‌ You seem to be quite sad”

“I’m not _sad_”

“Okay, so what are you here for? Come to run into the arms of a handsome pirate?”

“Don’t be crass, I’m here because of Ula”

Morgan smiled “Aw, my Ula. ‌‌How is she?”

“She’s.. not going to leave her fiance for you, that’s how she is”

“Excuse me?‌ and she sent you to tell me that?”

“Yes, Ula has a lot of connections in Abelforth, which is how she knows me, and she could make life very difficult for you if she chose to, she knows every lord and lady in this village, and your shop could be shut down and you could be put in prison for what you’ve done. They don’t take kindly to pirates in these parts”

“Aw shit” he groaned “I‌ was just tryin’ to make a bit of extra money, I didn’t know I‌ was getting involved in something like this. I had no idea Ula was this well connected.”‌ He swallowed hard and bit his bottom lip, clearly thinking of his options.

Percy inspected the tankard of ale, he had alcoholic beverage before, of course, many a day he would break into his father’s liquor cabinets, but he had never had a bitter and less refined drink. He took a small sip and nearly spit it out.

“Ugh!” He felt the taste permeating his tongue and sticking to the walls of his mouth “This is disgusting, do people really drink this swill?”

“You learn to love that taste, trust me.” he sighed “Well, look… I’ll give Ula all the money I have on me, and… I’ll let you in on a little secret, none of my wares are cursed, it’s just a ploy to get stupid customers to buy wicked things. All this stuff is fine”

“What about Bradley? He _is _a goat”

“Yeah, that was not me, that was the local witch casting her magic about, she’s lost her mind a bit, she thought he was a thief looking to steal from her home and she cast the first thing she could think of”

“Alright, I‌ believe you… but Ula doesn’t want to deal with you, she sent me to deal with you directly in her absence. Give me the treasures for Ula and leave Abelforth right away, and we won’t call the city guard on you”

“Alright, so… I have a lot of stuff, it’s all in the shop, you can take this key-” He said, procuring a small golden key on a chain and sliding it over to him “It unlocks the chests in the back room as well, Ula and you can take whatever you want, just promise me.. that you won’t spread this about. You’ll let me get out of town?”

“Deal, you can leave without any repercussions.”‌

He downed the last bit of his ale in one quick swing and slammed the tankard onto the table, he then stood up “I guess I better be out of here, get my crew together and just… leave”

“I’m sure you can pirate some other stuff somewhere else” Percy said with a smile

“Yeah, well.. I wouldn’t even be considering _any_ of this, but you… would be a powerful enemy to have and I don’t need that, I’ve made enemies of people like you before and… it’s not fun”

Percy stuck out his hand for the pirate, and Morgan took it, shaking it gently “It was a pleasure to meet you, _Captain_”

_‌_ ‌*****

After leaving Captain Morgan, Percy made his way back to the shop where Ula was waiting on the bench outside, he sat beside her.

“He’s gone, he’s agreed to leave the city and also…” he pulled the golden key out of his pocket “I got this”

“What is this?”

“Turns out, none of his wares are actually cursed. And he was so scared that I‌ would call the city guard on him that he gave it to you” he handed it over “That’s the key to his shop, you could sell all of that stuff and be _rich_.”

“Thank you so much for helping me, I’ve been such a fool in falling for a man like that” she shook her head “How can I repay you?‌”

“I’m already rich, so I don’t really need any money”

“You earned a reward, we can go to his shop tomorrow and you can pick out whatever you want”

“But I‌ don’t want anything”

“Come on Percival, just meet me outside this shop tomorrow at mid-evening, and we can take what we want, and throw the rest of it off the docks”

“Alright”‌ he agreed, getting up from the bench “Oh, also your boyfriend was cursed by a witch, It’s what Morgan told me”

“Damn, did he say which one?”

Percy raised an eyebrow “How many are there in Abelforth?”

Ula shrugged “Three or four, they come here for the potion shops mostly.”‌ she stood up and pocketed the golden key, heading to the shop door “I’ll ask around I guess, find out what happened and then.. if I‌ can get it reversed”

Percy nodded wordlessly as she went back into the shop and rushed up to the front of the counter, leaning over it to speak to her father. He looked at the sky, it was starting to get dark and he should have been home ages ago, he made his way up the cobbled streets and winding path back to the manor.

He stood at the gates and looked up at his home, it was quite large and loomed against the mute pink colors of the sunset. It should have been majestic.

But he merely sighed as he opened the gates and walked dejectedly up the path. Winston was waiting at the front of the house with an unreadable expression “The Lord requested me to inform you that he wishes to see you in his office straight away”

“Am I in trouble?”

“Most assuredly, my good sir” he ushered Percy inside the estate and escorted him to the office where his father was sitting behind the desk, a stern expression on his face.

“You may go, Winston, Thank you”

“You are welcome, Lord”

He bowed and then turned on his heel and shut the door gently behind him, leaving Percy alone with his father.

“Percival, when I‌ said you could go off on your own, I‌ expected you to be back at the manor before dark”

“It is before dark” Percy said, taking a seat in the chair and leaning forward “I‌ can still see my way about”

“Percy, why do you not listen to me?”

“Because you never listen to me”

“I do not want you hanging around Ula” he said “Her father informed me that she was quite… uncertain of her status in her engagement”

“Meaning she’s not in love with her fiance, so what?‌ Is actually ever in love with someone they are forced to marry?‌ Do you love mum?”

“Percival, don’t be ridiculous, of course I‌ love your mother.”

Percy shrugged and stared up at the ceiling “Then what’s the problem? Maybe she loves Bradley and is having anxiety about getting married”

“The problem is that she seems to think she is in love with every other young gentleman she meets.”

“Alright, so you’re afraid she’s going to seduce me?”

“Don’t be crass”

“I’m sorry, how was I born?” he leaned back and put his boots up on the edge of his father’s desk “Why don’t you just admit it, you don’t want me being around Ula because she’s poor”

“I‌ am not so prissy that I cannot see past my own riches, but there is a lot more at stake for us than regular people. We have a reputation to uphold.”

“And?”

“Ula and her father are not a part of high society”

“There it is.” Percy got up, shoving the chair over and stomped to the door “You know, we just met these people, they were very nice to us and this is how you repay that consideration?‌ by looking down on them because they don’t have as much money as you?”

“Us”

“I’m not a part of this family”

“Percival, go to your room”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, go to your room. You are showing no respect for your father and as such, you will be punished for it, you are not to leave your room until tomorrow”

“But what about _food?”_

_“_I‌ will have someone send something up for you, you simply cannot disrespect me in my own home without repercussions”

Percy got out of the chair, knocking it over and stomping to the door of the office “I hate you”

“What did you just say?”

"I said, that I hate you"

His father’s voice was level, collected, possibly even calm up until that point where Percy heard a waver, a hesitation.

“Go to your room, Percy, I’ve changed my mind about dinner. You will eat in the morning”


	3. Persistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Milquetoast decides that he and his son need to have a day away from the manor.

* * *

Percy awoke to a knock on the door and a voice on the other side “Young Mr. Milquetoast, your father requests you in the dinning room”

Percy sat up in bed and groaned, remembering the row he and his father had the previous night. “Tell him to go to hell”

“Of course, young Sir”

Percy waited a moment and then sighed, he pushed the blankets off and made his way to the door of his room before Winston could depart, he opened it and pushed past the man.

“Will the young Sir deliver his own message, then?”

“If he gets mad enough” Percy said with a grin as he started down the staircase and onto the landing, he turned down the winding corridor and into the dining room, where his father was eating breakfast and reading from a book, it was one of the many books from his personal library.

He took a seat next to his father and peered at the book “What are you reading?”

His father did not turn acknowledge his son at first, simply content to continue reading from his novel. Percy started tapping his fingers rhythmically on the dining table.

“Will the young Lord be dining for breakfast?” Winston’s voice said behind Percy, startling him and making him jump slightly in his char.

“No, I’m not hungry. And Winston, can you _not_ do that?”

“Do what, my young Sir?”

“Sneak up on people like that, I had no idea you were there. you’re as quiet as a corpse”

“Percival, be respectful”

“Oh, now you notice me” Percy gave his father a glare “When I do something you deem ‘wrong’”

Lord Milquetoast cleared his throat and set his book down, he looked at the butler “Winston, please get Percival something to eat” he then changed his focus to his son “Percy, I have noticed lately we have been… not quite getting along”

“Have we ever gotten along?”

“I’m sure there was a time, long before you were able to talk back”

“How very _dare_ you!”

“Be calm, my son, that was simply a joke”

Percy crossed his arms and refused to say another word for the duration of time it took Winston to return to the room with his breakfast in tow.

He set it gently on the table “Will that be all?”

Lord Milquetoast nodded and dismissed the man, clearing his throat before speaking once more to his son “Percival, I did ask you down here for a reason”

“Oh, it isn’t simply because you love and cherish the familial relationship we have, the strong bond as father and son?”

“Sarcasm is not charming, Percival”

“It’s a good thing I’m not trying to charm anyone” he said wryly

“Moving on, I thought we could go away for a day”

“We went away yesterday for the day and I hate you more for it” Percy said with a shrug as he looked down at the plate of food Winston had brought to him. It was eggs with tomatoes, strips of lightly seared chicken and toast.

“Percy, don’t say such hurtful things”

“As I stated before, you don’t have the feelings to be hurt”

His father made a face “You believe that simply because I am older than you, I have stopped being able to feel? I can assure you that isn’t true Percival, when something hurtful is said…There is a reaction”

“Stony silence?”

Lord Milquetoast pushed his plate to the side of the table and stood up “I am going to be in my office, but I do wish to leave with you, we could go to the next town over and have a nice day out, I truly believe that you and I need to spend more time together.”

Percy turned around in his chat to look at his father “Where do you wish to go, Father?”

“I think we should head out to L'autre Ville, we could check out the local culture, maybe see a play at their theatre, and they have the most extensive museum”

“Alright, I’ll go”

“You don’t have to go”

“You’re kind of making it seem like I do”

“Alright, you do have to go, but I want you to _want_ to go, as well. Pack up a day bag with some things, we will find a place to stay once there. We can leave in the afternoon.”

“Yes, Father”

__ *

Percy stared down at his bed with a calculated expression. He wanted to go to sleep, he wanted to read a book, he did not want to go out of the city with his father.

He took a seat on the bed and tapped his fingers against the duvet, the soft thudding making him feel sleepy, he shook himself and stood up again. He needed something to _do._ Something fun, something exciting!

He sank back onto the bed just as there was a soft knock on the door, “Yes?” he called out.

“Your father is waiting for you out front, young Sir.” Said the voice of one of the maids, Elsa.

“Tell him I’m not coming”

Elsa paused for a moment, she opened the door and gave him a polite look, but he could tell there was something else “May I address you for a moment in a more personal way?”

“Of course”

“It is not my job to be the messenger between you and your father, it is my job to cook, to clean, to dust, and to replace the books on the shelves when _you_ mess them up.”

“Understood”

“Do you?” Elsa asked “Because I have worked for the Lord for many years and I have never seen any semblance of a normal father and son relationship between you two, and somehow I and other staff members always get caught in the middle of it”

“Why has nobody ever spoken up about it before?”

“And risk losing our jobs?” Elsa crossed her arms and sighed

“Fair point, but what’s _your_ point?”

“You already agreed to go with him, why are you changing your mind now? Why are you so unable to _try_ with your father?”

“I do try, it’s him that is unwilling to try. I think that the last time he actually liked me was when I was born, and it was because I couldn’t speak. Everything I do is wrong, everything I say is wrong, everything I want to _be_ is wrong”

Elsa sighed once more “May I address you by your name?”

“Yes”

“Percival, for the sake of the staff, _please_ go with your father today. He _is_ trying, I can assure you of that”

“Fine. Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes”

“Thank you, and do try to have fun”

“Fun doesn’t exist with my father”

Elsa did not reply, she simply left the room and gently shut the door behind her. Percy grabbed a bag and shoved a few things in it, a book or two, an outfit change and some coin pouches in case he planned to purchase anything while he and his father were out.

He grabbed a coat and pulled it over himself as he could see it was raining from his window, and grabbing the bag, he headed down the stairs, out the front door and to the entrance of the manor where his father was standing under an umbrella waiting for him, a carriage waiting patiently behind.

“It’s raining” Percy said

“You’re wearing a coat and I have an umbrella”

“What if I get dreadfully sick?”

“Then I will ship you off to the nearest graveyard”

“Ha ha, very funny, joke about your only son being dead.”

“Percival, come down here”

“What if I slip and fall and break my neck?”

Lord Milquetoast shifted the umbrella to his other hand, extending the right one out for his son “Come on, I’ve got you”

Percy eyed his father’s hand for a moment and then took it, the man helped him down the slick stone steps and into the back of the carriage, his father sat across from him as the man started to get the horses prepared to leave.

The rain was a light drizzle, but the dark grey clouds above threatened to turn into a storm as they left the manor grounds. Percy sighed.

“I did give you the option not to go, Percy”

“No, you gave me the option not to go and to be guilt tripped over it for months”

He looked at his son for a moment “What happened to your cheek?”

“What? Nothing”

“You have a bruise on your face”

“Is this seriously the first time you’re noticing this?” Percy asked “I told you I fell out of bed the other morning”

“Ah, well I suppose It must have slipped my mind”

“Or, more likely, you weren’t listening in the first place”

“Well, are you alright? You don’t appear to have suffered any brain damage from the fall”

Percy huffed and looked to the side to watch the rain as the carriage horses moved slowly through the city of Abelforth and out the front gates. It had been some time since he was out of the city, he remembered when he was younger he would go on day trips with his mother and father.

The rain kept a slow and steady drizzle, which was fine by Percy, he didn’t think the rain cover would keep it’s stability under extreme pressure, Percy rifled through his bag and grabbed one of the several books he had ended up packing. He tried to focus on what the pages were saying.

“_In the end, it is of the utmost importance to remember the key rules of being, wisdom is not a gift you can throw away, intelligence is not a gift you can throw away, and the art of wood carving is not a gift you can throw away” _

“Why did I buy this?” Percy said aloud, shoving the book back in his bag.

“That wood carving book? You did not buy that, I bought that for your last birthday.”

“Oh, makes sense that it’s bad then” Percy said with a sneer

“You could stand to be a little more polite, if not the very least because we are in public” his father said with a warning tone.

“I am very deeply sorry, Father” he grabbed the book from his bag once more and handed it over to Lord Milquetoast “Have a gift”

“Percy”

“Sorry, I’ll be quiet”

His father took the book from him and started reading it for a while, L'autre Ville was only several hours away by carriage, Percy was stuck here in an uncomfortable silence for at least another two hours. He leaned his head back against the uncomfortable carriage and closed his eyes, maybe he could sleep until they were there.

He discovered he was not able to sleep mere moments later when one of the horses pulling the carriage nearly tripped over a large rock on the path. The horse quickly recovered, but the thudding was enough to jolt Percy into an alert state he wasn’t sure he’d ever calm down from.

“So” The driver said after a while “How is everything Lord Milquetoast?”

“Things are going well, I’m thinking about bringing some new horses to the stables in a bit”

“That’s exciting”

“I want to make sure they are the right breed of course, and that they get along with the other horses. Particularly Damien, he’s quite difficult”

“He’s a rescue horse, Dad. Of course he’s a little hard to calm down sometimes, you just have to know what you’re doing”

“Percy, we have had these horses since you were a very small child, I am not unequipped to deal with them”

“I don’t really get into taking care of animals much” the driver said “I have my hands full enough as it is with young Sebastian and Ariel”

“How old are they now?”

“Sebastian is nearing ten, Ariel is fourteen”

Lord Milquetoast let out a chuckle at this and nodded, though he knew the man couldn’t see him “Yes, those are both quite difficult ages, but you have your hands more full than I, I only had to take care of one child”

“Yes, but Percy is quite… he is something else”

“Percy is also right here” he said with a little shrug

“Now now Percival, we aren’t insulting you. There is a truth in what the man is saying”

“Once, when he thought I couldn’t hear him, he said I was a rubbish person and an arrogant moron. Do you still think he’s being truthful?”

“I think someone has quite the imagination”

“You never believe anything I say to you, do you?”

“I can tell the difference between honesty and you simply acting out.”

“Obviously you can’t, because that was honesty” he sighed for a moment “And this is acting out” he gave his father a severe look before speaking again.

“I want you to listen to me, possibly for the first time in my entire life, because I truly mean it when I say this, I hate you.”

His father remained silent as the sounds of rain became a little louder. Percy waited for any kind of reaction, but there was nothing. He spoke again, “I think about running away all the time, all the places I could go, all the things I could see…”

It was in that moment he felt the weight of his own words, they had never felt so heavy before “I _hate_ you”

His father did not react, Percy didn’t know what he had been expecting but it certainly wasn’t what he did next “Aren’t you going to say something? anything at all? Aren’t you going to yell at me and tell me what a horrible disappointment I’ve been to you?”

“No, and I will hear no more of this” he snapped his fingers at the driver “Please stop the carriage and let my son off here”

“What? It’s raining! It’s the middle of nowhere!”

“I’m sure you with all of your many ideas and dreams will be able to figure out what to do and how to survive, Perc-percy” his voice faltered for a moment but he didn’t let up, once the driver stopped the carriage, he ushered his son off of it, tossing his bag on the wet ground.

“What am I supposed to do!?”

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it Percy? You wish to be free of your horrible father, Well then so be it. You don’t have to suffer any longer”

“Shall I go?” the driver asked, Lord Milquetoast gave his son a final look

“Dad…”

“Yes, we shall leave”

Percy stood there in the rain as the carriage slowly pulled away, he ran past his bag and at a slow pace alongside the carriage “Dad!, dad please. I’m sorry!”

His father did nothing, said nothing, he didn’t even look at him. “I don’t hate you!”, the rain started to come down harder, and the carriage moved at a quicker pace, he couldn’t keep up running and fell behind the horses. He was stuck in a downpour in the middle of nowhere between two cities.

“Dad!” he shouted


	4. L'autre Ville

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lord Milquetoast and his son arrive in L'autre Ville, drama and fighting force Percy to take a moment to himself in a tavern, which leads to some terrible consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

After a while it stopped raining, Percy was sitting on the side of the path and picking at some grass. The time of day and the storm had made it so traffic was rather scarce, but nearly forty minutes into his wait, he heard the familiar sound of horses hooves against the dirt road, Percy looked up and saw that it was his father’s carriage.

He instinctively picked a pick from his bag and winded up his arm, ready to throw it, the carriage stopped in front of him and his father stepped off, gently grabbing the book from him and setting it on the ground, he took a seat beside his son.

“What do you want?”‌

“I would like to apologize for my behavior, it was incorrigible and… I am sorry”

Percy crossed his arms and sniffled, looking everywhere but at Lord Milquetoast “It’s what I’ve come to expect”

“Percival, have you been crying?”

“No,‌ I have allergies”

His father put a hand on his shoulder “If you will, I would still.. like to go to the city and have a day together”

“Okay” Percy answered quietly

His father helped him to his feet and the pair got back onto the carriage, Percy holding onto his bag tightly.

“Were you going to throw that book at me?”

“You deserve it”

“Perhaps, but I‌ do wonder if the whole day will be like this”

“You left me in the middle of a beaten path, _in the rain” _

The carriage started moving again, and the driver gently sighed - It was clear to Percy that even he was sick of the arguments between the two aristocrats, for the sake of the man’s sanity, Percy stayed quiet for the duration of the trip, even when his father tried to speak directly to him.

When they arrived at the gates of L'autre Ville, the man gently but firmly stated he had other paying customers he had to drive somewhere else, and barely gave them enough time to collect their day bags before he started off again.

“Well, he was keen to get rid out of here”

“Perhaps he hates the city” Lord Milquetoast said with a smirk

“Perhaps” Percy shrugged and approached the two men standing guard at the gate “Excuse me?”

“Whassat?” one man, a burly looking man with dark brown hair and a pole-arm at his side

“Why are you guys standing guard?”

“Because the prince and his family are in town for a wedding, numb skull”

“Excuse me” Lord Milquetoast said, coming up and putting his hands on Percy’s shoulders “Are you disrespecting my son?”

The guard straightened up and cleared his throat “No no, no of course not Lord Milquetoast.

Percy looked behind him “I mean, I haven’t been here before but I didn’t expect the Calvary”

“Two men is not exactly a cavalry, Percival, and do you not remember?‌ We used to come up here a lot when you were a child”

“I‌ must have blocked it out”

“Ah, yes, because your childhood was so very terrible.”‌

“I‌ have never in my entire life ever told a lie, so anything I say must be the truth”

“Percy, I‌ very much wish that were so” He turned back to the man and cleared his throat “We have business in the city”

“Personal business?”

“Yes”

“Well, ugh… Alright then, Tell your kid to watch his mouth”

“I’d request you not speak to me that way, and especially not about my son.” Lord Milquetoast gave the man a warning look and the man gave a sarcastic bow with a mumbled and insincere apology, but the two men did let Percy and his father through into the city.

Percy looked up at his dad “What was that about?”

“I will not have anyone disrespecting you that way”

Percy nodded “Yes, only _you_ can disrespect me”

His father ignored this jab and the two of them made their way to the local inn to get a room for the day and have somewhere to store their bags.

‌ -------

“Percy, get your feet off the table”‌ Lord Milquetoast said as he went through the things in his bag and the rain fell gently onto the windows.

“Unfortunately it looks as if we’ll have to wait to go to the museum”

“Bummer” Percy said, his feet still firmly on the table in the center of the room, until his father pushed them off and back onto the floor with a thud.

“Ow!”

“That did not hurt you” his father shook his head “Stop being so dramatic”

Percy sat up straight in the chair “Excuse me?‌ Did you not _just_ leave me out in the pouring rain for no reason?”‌

“My actions were absolutely abysmal, I‌ was reacting out of hurt of what you said to me”

“I‌ tell you I hate you all the time” Percy shrugged “What’s so different about this time?”

“I believed you, this time”‌

“Well, it’s true every time Dad, and I don’t care if it hurts you. You’re a bad father, I might as well be honest, I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to spend time with you, I want to go back to the manor and pretend we never came here”

“Percival, you will mind your tone right this instant, you do not speak to anyone that disrespectfully, let alone your own father”

“My _bad_ father”

“Challenge me all you want, Percy, we are still spending time here together.”

Percy got up from the chair, he then kicked it over and crossed his arms “I‌ don’t want to”

“You are _seventeen_ years old, you are not a child and yet you are behaving like an insolent little kid”

Percy looked at his feet for a moment, remembering all the times before when he would do this exact thing, his father was good at making him feel ashamed and guilty, his father was also good at making him apologize for things he never felt bad for doing.

There was silence for a couple of minutes while his father organized things from his bag around the room “Now, the most exciting thing”‌ he said, breaking the silence and startling Percy “is that the museum goes through many different eras of art, different styles from different painters.”

“I don’t care”

“It’s all very interesting, have you never looked at the paintings at the manor and wondered more about art?”

“All I know about art is that you made me sit for six and a half hours to get my portrait done and also that art is stupid”

His father chuckled “You’re just saying that because you are cross with me, please, Percy. I want to share my interests with you”

Percy shook his head and stormed over to the dresser in the corner, he grabbed his coat and put it over his shoulders “No, that’s not fair. I’m not allowed to have interests of my own, I’m just supposed to live your perfect little life with all your perfect little interests, I’m _done”_

“Percy, where are you going?”

“I’m going back to Abelfoth, I’m going to pack my stuff and leave”

“_Please _don’t say that”

He glared at his father and without another word he turned to open the door of the room.‌ “Percy, please!” he heard his father shout before the door shut. He stood there for a moment, would his father come after him or just stay put?

He waited for a minute, nothing but silence. He peered into the keyhole and saw his father sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

_Good _he thought, but he felt guilt welling up in his body, he shook himself and made his way down the end of the hall and out through the front entrance.

A lot of the streets were lined with shops just like back in Abelforth, he wandered around for a while looking at the different names of shops, there was a potions shop, a shop for building tools, and a book store, but what caught his eye the most was the tavern.

He walked into the tavern and was hit with a heavy smell of smoke and potentially rancid meat, he made his way through to the bar and sat on one of the seats.

“What are you, like twelve?” the bartender said, having eyed him when he sat down.

“What twelve year old dresses like this?” Percy scoffed

“A rich one?”

“Okay fair, I did dress like this when I‌ was twelve. Anyway, just give me a drink”

“Whaddya want?”

“Something strong enough to make me forget how much I hate my father”

“Ah, you’re gonna want a rum then, or more than one..”

“You sell food here?”

“Yeah”‌ the bartender said “But it’s rotten”

“Ew, ‌I mean.. I like it rotten. Just give me whatever you have, I’m hungry”

The man chuckled and threw the rag he had been using to clean glasses onto the bar “It’s your funeral”

He went into the back for a moment and came out with a large cup of rum, setting it in front of Percy “I’ll get your food in a minute, also be careful with that!” he shouted, seeing Percy trying to tip the tankard over

“I’m trying to pour it into my mouth”‌

“Drink it like an adult or get the hell out!”

Percy eyed the man for a moment and then sighed, taking a small sip of the rum, he made a face and started coughing. The bartender laughed “Amazing, I‌ can tell you’ve had drinks before”

“I _have”‌ _he set down the cup “But it’s all been fancy wines, not…”‌ he choked again, the bartender shook his head and handed him another cup “It’s water, drink it when you need it”

“I’m not a child”

“You can’t handle hard liquor, kid. There’s no shame in that”‌

Percy rested his head on the bar, staring sideways at the cup of water and frowning “Maybe not”

“Are you alright, kid?”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I’m rich and have loads of money, nobody has emotions when they are rich”‌

“It is sort of part of my profession to listen to people complain about their lives, wanna have a chat?”

“I got into an argument with my father, and I left… I told him I‌ was running away”

“And are you?”

“I don’t know”

The man went behind into a different room for a couple of moments and came back with a plate, it had a sandwich on it and some kind of salad. Percy straightened up and grabbed the plate “This doesn’t look rotten”

“Keep it down, will ya? I‌ just tell people food is bad here so they don’t order it, because I‌ don’t want to feed thirty drunk idiots”

“So, why not just not make me food?”

“You seem like a nice kid, whatever you said your name was”

“I didn’t, but it’s Percival”

“You seem like a nice kid, Percival. And any father worth his salt wouldn’t let his kid feel like this”

“Well I mean, he tries I guess… and I’m not saying that I’m perfect because I can be a real jerk and I do it just to hurt him.”

“Like what, what do you do?”

Percy shrugged and took a bite of the sandwich, it felt like it had been ages since he had last eaten and this was the best tasting sandwich at a tavern he had ever eaten, not that it was a habit for him to dine in taverns and bars.

But he could imagine.

He swallowed and took a drink of water and then spoke again “I told him that I hated him”

“Do you?”

He shook his head “No, he’s my father”‌

“Then tell him that you’re sorry, but make sure he knows where that pain is coming from, You can’t just… hold that in, I know that I wish I‌ had told my mom things before she had… before. But I didn’t, I‌ lied to my mom a lot and after she passed I was so angry with myself”

“Why were angry?”

“Because I‌ left so much unsaid, and… when you get older, there’s so much you’re expected to do, you gotta be successful, you gotta be strong, have to have a head on your shoulders worth something”

“I thought that when you get older it gets easier. I’ve only ever seen adults happy, sometimes angry”

“Whoever fed you that bullshit that adults don’t get sad is an idiot, we’re sadder than we were when we was kids, because we know more, and it hurts more.”

Percy took another bite of the sandwich “So what’s the point?”

“The point is finding something that _makes_ us happy, me?‌ I’m happy being a bartender in this place, it’s grimy and it’s dark and I‌ don’t have any friends, but that’s the way I‌ like it, if you’re not happy where you are, Percival. You need to find a place where you are happy”

“So you’re suggesting I actually run away?”

The man shrugged “I’m not saying that, not really. I’m just saying you gotta take control of your own life, if you believe in a higher power, or destiny, or any of that… No matter, it’s _your_ life. What do you wanna do?”

“I want to be somebody else”

“Well first you have to figure out who you are now, and what that means”

“I know who I am now, what’s expected of me, what everyone sees when they look at me, I’m not my own person, I don’t know that I ever have been… I’m just a name, a legacy.”‌

“No, your a person with dreams and ambitions. What do _you_ want to do?”

“I‌ want to do something that makes me feel cool, like a badass, like… I read a lot of stories and in those stories there are always really cool people who do amazing things that I‌ wish I‌ could do…”

“Guess what Percy, you can do those things!” he said enthusiastically “You can do anything you set your mind to do, I’m not condoning you running away, but if you need to do it to be happy…”

“But isn’t running away cowardly?”‌

“No, not at all… sometimes running away is the bravest thing you can do, Percy. I ran away from my parents home when I‌ was a kid, I was being beat by my dad every day.. and he never touched my mom, it was me that was the problem and there was nothing I could do but leave”

“I’m sorry, that sounds horrible”

“It was, but it taught me something… You can either stay and get beat down, and never be happy, or you can leave and start a new life for yourself, there is always gonna be regret. I‌ never should have left without saying goodbye to my mom, that’ll haunt me, so make damn sure that if you’re leaving, you say what you need to say to your old man”

“I’ll think about it”

“Alright, and just letting you know, if you’re needing a place to stay and hide out, I always have a place here for you.”

“You don’t even know me, why are you being so nice to me?”‌

“Oh come on, everyone knows who you are, even here we’ve heard of your father and his fortune. We know about you, Mr. Milquetoast”

“Wait, so you’ve known who I‌ am this whole time and you.. treated me like anyone else?”

“I‌ don’t care about your name, or your legacy. You came into my bar looking like the saddest kid I’ve ever seen, there ain’t nothing that’ll make me think of you as a spoiled rich kid”

Percy smiled at the man and went silent for a while, finishing up his food, he picked up the cup of rum and drank a huge gulp, fighting the urge to throw it back up, he took another gulp.

“Hey, you wanna slow down on that, kid?”‌

Percy shook his head “No, no I don’t. I want to fast up on it.”‌ He guzzled down the rest of the water he had and slammed the cup on the bar, pushing himself to his feet. ‌He reached into his pocket for some coin and the man shook his head.

“No, your money is no good here”

“But I’m rich”

“And I don’t care, go take care of yourself Percy.”

“Whats your name?”

“Benning, John Benning”

“Thank you for everything Mr. Benning.” He said with a smile before leaving the tavern and starting to stumble a little bit, “Wow” he said aloud “Rum really kicks in fast”

He stumbled onto the street and started walking by the shops, swaying as the alcohol started effecting him more. “God, am I a lightweight?”‌

He decided to check out some of the shops in an attempt to sober up a little bit, barging into the door of the potions shop and startling the two men who were having a discussion by one of the shelves.

“Sir, please be careful” the man behind the counter said

“Will do captain!”‌ Percy said, giving the man an enthusiastic thumbs up.

The man rolled his eyes, putting his attention back on a customer in front of him, but he occasionally looked up to make sure Percy was heeding his advice. Percy looked at a couple empty bottles that one would pour potions into when finished mixing them.

“Sir, can you please not touch the bottles. I’m absolutely terrified you will break them”

“I would never do that to you, you’ve been like a father to me since I met you”

“You met me five minutes ago, and I‌ yelled at you”

Percy nodded “Yeah, like my father”‌

“No!” the man to the side yelled at his friend “This is ridiculous, I’m having a word with the manager” he pushed past his friend and leaned angrily against the counter

“I‌ want you to explain to me what the hell you think you’re pulling here?!”

“Sir, what are you yelling about?”

“I saw these exact potions elsewhere for HALF a copper piece, and you’re making me pay two thirds of that?”

“Sir I must insist you calm down and lower your voice”

Percy listened in on the fight while trying to stay upright, the room was spinning just a little bit and he felt the tavern sandwich’s urge to make a return trip. He held onto one of the shelve sections and behind him, the man threw a punch at the manager. He turned around just in time to see the man duck “Oy! Kid, get the hell out of here!” he yelled

The angry man turned to Percy “No, no you goddamn don’t.. You’re not telling any law enforcement on me” he advanced on him, and even in Percy’s altered mental state, he knew he was in deep trouble. He ducked out of the way of the man but was pulled back by the hem of his coat, the man lifted him up against the wall “You going to tell on me?”

Percy shook his head “No, no… please just let me go”

The man surprisingly obliged, he gently let him go and Percy got as as far as the door when he ran right into his father.

“Ouch, sorry..”

“Percy, you are coming back with me this instant. You had me worried sick”

“Yeah _right” _he swayed a little bit on the spot, his father grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him “Have you been drinking?”

Percy shrugged “Have you been… _stupid?” _

“Hey, I let you go” the man said, tapping Percy on the shoulder, when he mistakenly turned around, he felt the angry man’s strong fist connecting with his jaw, and then his nose. He shoved Percy back into a row of shelves that came down around him.

“Leave my son alone!”

“Yeah, what are you going to do about it?”‌

Lord Milquetoast grabbed one of the still intact potion bottles from the floor, the man’s friend and the manager were cowering behind the counter and Percy was struggling to stay conscious, he saw his father throwing a bottle right in the man’s eyes, shards of glass embedding themselves into his eyeballs.

Percy started to fade.

“Wake up!” his father’s voice echoed all around him “Wake up Percy, we’re going back to the inn”

“I… ” Percy started “The room is spinning, it won’t stop spinning”

The blurry form of the manager stood beside his father and looked down on him “This isn’t good… he’s broken some bottles with important elixirs in them”

“Important how?”

“Not… uh, super great when ingested, especially if he was drinking” the man pulled his glasses out of his pocket and inspected one of the half broken bottles “Oh shit…” he muttered “Uh… This isn’t good, you need to get your son to a doctor _now_.”

“What?”‌ he asked “What’s wrong with my son?”

“This is a very potent, very dangerous mix of potions, you’re son is about to be very ill, he could possibly die”

“What?!”‌ Percy tried to sit up but his father shook his head “No, no no we’re going to take you back to the inn and call a doctor”

Behind them, the angry man finally recovered from having glass thrown into his eye, he carefully ran out the door in what he thought was a stealthy move, then the manager followed suit “Not so fast you scumbag!” his shouting was heard moving down the street, the last person to run out was the angry man’s friend.

Percy and his father were alone.

And he felt cold, and he couldn’t stop shaking.

“Dad..”‌ he managed to say before collapsing into unconsciousness.


	5. I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival gets sicker and his father is faced with the only thing that could possibly save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, but don't worry, I'll make up for it with a longer one! Also please shut up about my formatting, I don't know how to format and when I do it the way it looks in books, it looks wrong and weird.

Percy heard echoing voices, confusing sounds and when he opened his eyes he saw dim light, undefined shapes.

“Sir, I know you are worried about your son but there is nothing I‌ can do if you keep yelling at me”

“You don’t seem to be doing anything anyway!” Lord Milquetoast shouted at the man, Percy felt his father place his hand on his forehead. He tried to speak but no words would come out, instead he let out a tiny cough.

His father looked at him “Percy…”

“I am doing everything I can, I need to meet with the potion shop owner to discuss antidotes, do you know where he went?”

“He ran off looking for the thug that hurt my son, I don’t know where he could be now”

“I’ll call the city guard and have them search, we _must_ find that man, he’s the only one here who knows how to counteract these potions”

The man said nothing else before leaving the room and gently shutting the door, Lord Milquetoast picked up a cup that had been sitting on the table, he chucked it hard against the wooden door and it shattered into pieces.

“Useless!”‌ he shouted

“Fa-father” Percy said weakly

“Percy..”

“am… am I going to die?” he was shaking, his body felt weak and cold like he had been in an ice bath for too long. The room was spinning so fast he had to close his eyes to stop it.

His father grasped his hand in his own “No, Percy… You will not die, I‌ will not allow it”

“I‌ feel weak” Percy stuttered “I feel dizzy”

“Save your strength” his father said, squeezing his hand “You simply need rest, but the doctor did tell me to try to get you to drink water”

His father reached over to the table and grabbed a glass filled with water, he helped Percy grab a hold of it and held onto it as his son struggled to take a sip

“I… don’t know if I can”

“Percy, please, do this for me. You need water.”

“I‌ can’t”

His father sighed and angrily slammed the water back on the table, causing some of it to slosh out over the wood “You didn’t even try”

“I’m sorry…. I‌ don’t feel good”

His father shook his head “No, don’t apologize Percy, I have no right to be angry with you, I’m not, I’m frustrated at the doctor”

Percy felt a wave of nausea wash over him, his stomach lurched and he leaned over the side of the bed, vomiting up a mix of rum, sandwich and blood.

He choked for a couple of minutes and then laid back on the bed “I think I made a mess”‌ he said, wiping sweat off his forehead, his father shook his head “It doesn’t matter”

“I’m…” he started coughing again, specks of blood flying out mixed with saliva, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell deeply to sleep.

*

He awoke later, the candles had been put out and the room was completely dark. He blinked “Dad?” he called out.

His father didn’t answer, he pushed the blankets off of him and sat up, putting his bare feet gently against the wood floor, it was almost cold to the touch but he felt compelled to stand.

There was a breeze coming from an open window, maybe his father had opened it for him before going to find the doctor again, he crossed the short distance to the window and put his hands against the sil. He felt weak and cold, but he was able to stand up, that had to count for something.

The cool air felt good against his hot skin, it was a relief to be able to breathe in the night air and he felt relaxed, until something shot out from the darkness, a withered and blackened hand reached out, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him forward out the window.

He fell down into the blackness screaming as loud as he could, and then he woke up back in the bed. He kicked out and screamed at the top of his lungs, his father who was still sitting in the bedside chair tried to calm him.

“Percy!”‌ he said over the sounds of his son’s screaming but Percy smacked his hand away “No!”‌ he screamed

“Leave me alone, get away from me!”

“Percy, it’s me, it’s your father”

“No no no no, get away from me” he screamed as loud as he could, he couldn’t stop seeing the tendrils of shadows creeping along the wall, they were coming to get him, to take him away.

His vision cleared for a moment and the sounds of his screaming diminished as they were replaced with his father’s crying. Percy looked at his father and tapped him gently on the hand.

“Don’t cry” he said softly “I’m fine”

His father didn’t respond, he just looked at his son, occasionally running his fingers through Percy’s messy hair.

“Can I… can I do something?”

“Just stay alive, son”

“I’m scared” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes and falling down his cheeks

“I‌ know, my son… I know”

*

He ran his fingers through his hair, he was pacing again. The floorboards creaked under his boots. He felt like he hadn’t been able to get a full breath since he found his son in that shop.

He bit his bottom lip, letting the pain distract him for just one moment, he looked at the bed, his son was sleeping, covered in sweat and occasionally kicking off the covers and grabbing them back.

It had been several days of this, waiting, wondering, worrying. The doctor had said his son wasn’t getting any better, but that he wasn’t getting worse, was that supposed to be comforting?

His son hadn’t eaten, he could barely keep down any water without vomiting it back up, and the previous night he woke up coughing blood onto the white sheets and all he saw when he closed his eyes was his son, sick and scared.

Percy stirred, he tossed and turned and then sat up, blinking several times, he rushed over to his son and sat on the bed, taking Percy’s hand “Son?”

“I..I had a bad dream”

Percy was weak, the last couple of days he was too weak to speak at all and kept losing his patience when he tried to construct a sentence, nights were spent with him screaming and kicking and crying.

“Whatever it was, it wasn’t real, it was just a dream”

Percy blinked “Why is it so bright in here?”

“The blinds are open, do you want me to close them?”

“I have a question, Father”

He paused for a minute and looked around the room as if he were confused how he got there, or where there even was, this was happening a lot more often than it did when he first got sick. “Do you hate me?”

Percy looked at him expectantly and he took his son’s hand “Percival, no… I‌ do not and have _never_ hated you, don’t even think like that, you are my _son_ and I‌-” his voice cracked “I love you, Percival”

“You _love_ me?‌ Oooooh” Percy managed to say in a mocking tone. The Lord laughed and pulled his son into a tight hug “I never want to let go of you, Percy”

“Can I sleep here?”

“Of course”

“When I‌ get better, we can go to the theatre like you said” his son said weakly

“Save your strength, Percy”

“We can go horse riding, we can rearrange the books… in the library…”‌ he started crying “Father, I’m sorry… I don’t hate you”

“I know”

“I was just angry, I should have never…”

“Shhh, my son. Please forget it, it’s not a problem”

Percy cried for a while until he wore himself out and fell back asleep, The Lord helped him lay back onto the pillow and covered him with a blanket, a moment later the doctor came in with the man from the potions shop.

“I have good news, Lord”

“Go on, but be careful. He’s sleeping”

The doctor nodded “We were able to find out a way to counteract the effects of the potions, these are all fairly basic potions but one of them is the culprit, it’s the reason why he’s not getting any better, and it has a very bad reaction with alcohol, he was drinking rum, yes?”

“As far as I know, that was all he had”

The potion man stepped forward “Well, we’ve isolated the problem, it’s this potion that was used for generally speaking, it’s supposed to offer a magical sort of way of uh… It’s not good, it’s used in poisoning kings and the like”

“And you sell this?”

“That’s neither here nor there, my Lord, what is of the utmost importance is that we find the antidote, it does exist, but it is incredibly hard to make, our best bet is being able to find one already made”

“How in all the isles are we supposed to do that?” he asked the man angrily, starting to lose his patience with the both of them

“Well we’ve hired a wizard to help us, she’s going to be able to use a spell to help us locate an object, the object in question is going to be an already procured version of the antidote we need. This is your sons best bet here.”

“What if she can’t find it?”‌ the Lord asked angrily “What if your wizard fails my son?”

“Lord I understand that-”

the Lord stood up and walked over to the doctor and the potion seller “You do not understand what I‌ have gone through sitting up with my son every night because I was too terrified to fall asleep, you will _fix_ this!”

The potion seller nodded “I’ll go contact my wizard friend now”

“I’m going to come with you”

“What?” the man asked “No, that’s unneeded”

“My son could _die, _If there is anything I‌ can do to make him better I‌ will do it, let me come with you”

There was a pause as the man decided, the doctor sat down in the chair close by the bed “Let him come, I can stay here with the child and make sure he doesn’t get any worse”

“Alright, you can come, but it’s dangerous. She lives in a… she lives in a weird place”‌

“I don’t care, I will go anywhere to save my son”


	6. Lucky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Milquetoast goes out of his way to find a cure to help his son, who is running on borrowed time.

“Can this woman help my son?” the Lord asked the potions man, he had learned his name was Roland Faust.

“I‌ hope so, I don’t want to give you false hope but she may not be able to find what we need, and if that’s the case, we might have to go find the ingredients ourselves, and that’s… that’s not an option. Elenor is a good magic user, she should be able to help us”

“Excuse me, I will not let you say anything is not an option, if we can’t find it, we make it”

“Your son may not make it, this is a _very_ complex potion and the ingredients could take months to get.”

“Then we will find a way to speed up the process”

“Lord, I.. forgive me for speaking to abrasively, but there is not a lot we can do if we do not find a potion already made, your son may-”

“Do _not_ continue that, I will not hear it.”‌

“Lord, sir, you have to face the reality that your son could _die_.”

“What did I just say?” he said angrily to Roland, who backed away from him a little bit on the path “I said do _not_. My son will live, my son _has_ to live”‌

“As you wish, we will find Elenor and see what she can do.”

*

Percy opened his eyes, reaching out in the inky blackness for something, his father?‌ He was hearing voices all around him, little things he couldn’t make out and what he could made no sense.

“Nothing matters anymore” a voice said in his ear, he tossed and turned but the voice followed him and even though his eyes were open he saw nothing but darkness.

“Save yourself”

“Save yourself”

The voice repeated things, it was like snippets of words he had heard before, conversations that he had stored in his memory being chopped and altered to form new sentences.

His head started pounding with an intense pain, and then he leaned over into the darkness as nothing but bile and water came out of his mouth. He choked on the vomit and couldn’t stop coughing, all was dark until a hand rested on his shoulder.

He knew it wasn’t his father right away.

But everything became less noisy, a little clearer and he looked up to see the doctor his father had been talking to before.

“You need to try to drink something, you are very dehydrated”‌

The man’s words made no sense to him, he tried to decipher it in his head but couldn’t find a meaning in the words until the doctor pointed to a glass of water on the bedside table “You need to drink, Mister Milquetoast”

“Father, where is my father?”‌ his voice came out croaky and strange, he hadn’t spoken aloud in quite some time, as he looked around the room he could see no sign of his father. He looked back at the doctor, panic in his voice now.

“Where is my father?!”

“Your father is fine, he left with Mr. Faust, the potion seller, to find an antidote for your illness”

“Wh-why would he leave me?‌ I’m sick, I could die…”

“Trust me, I don’t think there is anyone who is as worried about that risk than your father, which is why he left, he wanted to take this into his own hands”

“What if I….”

“Put that thought out of your head and try to drink some water”

Percy nodded and the man helped him hold the glass of water, he took several small sips of it and with each sip he felt his body shiver, it must have been hours, maybe even a day without water, all he was able to do was drink small amounts and then violently throw it up.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, counting how long he could hold it, and then gently breathing out. “Get my father”

“I‌ promised I‌ would stay here for-”

“Get my father, I need him to be here.”

He felt weakness in his bones, a tiredness that he had never known. It was all he could do to speak, and he knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer, he needed his father with him.

“Oh dear” the doctor shook his head “No, no no… They are out looking for a cure, you can hold on, just for a little bit longer”

Percy shook his head, tears forming in his eyes as he struggled hard to swallow, he tasted blood. “I’m getting weaker…”

“I.. I‌ will send for your father”

As the doctor left, Percy tried to stay awake but kept falling in and out of consciousness, little dreams or memories playing in his head. He saw himself as a child, picking strawberries with his father, he saw his mother smiling at him, and then he was in a long hallway where he walked by a hundred or more people each with blurred out faces.

His breathing became more and more ragged, a tough sounding wheeze… He opened his eyes, he was still in the empty room, and his father was still out there somewhere.

“D-dad”‌ Percy said weakly “Ple-please”

*

He followed behind Roland, who was making occasional noises of worry or concern, after fifteen minutes of this, the Lord stopped him and tapped him on the shoulder “Can you please tell me what you’re hemming and hawing about?”‌

“It’s just.. the time we’ve been walking…” Roland looked around nervously, they had left when there was still daylight left, and now there was pitch black around them, Roland had led him through the city and up to a worn and beaten path that he claimed led to Elenor’s home, but the Lord was doubtful that anyone had stepped foot here in centuries.

“We have been walking for hours, where is this Elenor supposed to be?”

“Sometimes her house moves, it’s fine.. Just, give me some time”

“Her house moves?‌ You’ve only _now_ thought to mention this to me when we have been out here for hours?”

“Ah, sorry about that Sir I‌ just… I’m frazzled, I don’t want to be responsible for the death of your son”

“If my son dies, you will inexplicably end up living out of a bin in an alley, you will lose all your money, your place of business will be set on fire, and I will personally kick you in the shins.”

Roland choked a little, he gave the Lord a thumbs up to indicate the message was heard loud and clear, and then after a moment he started to walk up the path again. the Lord rolled his eyes.

A little while later they did find a small hut located up the path and enclosed in a area seeming to be overtaken with trees and other bits of nature. If there was anywhere a witch lived, this was it.

Before they even stepped close to the hut, the door opened and a woman emerged, she was wearing a bright orange robe wrapped around a black dress. She gave him a wave “Actually”‌ she said “I‌ prefer wizard”

“But isn’t wizard strictly for men?”

“Isn’t that a little sexist?”‌ She gave him a glare and then turned to Roland “My darling, what is it you come to me with today?”

“Hey wait a moment!” the Lord said “I‌ didn’t say that aloud”

“Ah yes I‌ was wondering how long it would take you to realize that I plucked that from your mind, You are an open book my darling”‌ She frowned “Oh dear, your son is sick?”

He nodded “That’s why we’ve come here, we need your help to-”

“To find the antidote already made, yes, I can hear you. This is a bit of a process but, I’ll help you, time is of the essence though, I assume you don’t wish to be away from Percival for too long?”

the Lord looked at Roland “Does she ever… stop doing that?”

Roland shook his head “No, she doesn’t, and you have to get used to it”

“I can hear you”‌ Elenor said, leading them inside the small hut, which was strangely larger on the inside. It was decorated how one would expect a witch to-

“Wizard” Elenor corrected

“Please, stop that!” the Lord said in a huff, he crossed his arms.

It was decorated how one would expect a _wizard_ to decorate their home, magical bits everywhere, books strewn about and a sense that the occupant rarely if ever leaves their home.

“Excuse me?”‌ Elenor asked “If you want me to help you, stop mocking me”

“Fine, I will simply _stop_ thinking at all”

“Shouldn’t be hard for you, Lord” she said, picking a book from the table and grabbing something from a pouch. “This is going to take about ten minutes, so settle in, make yourselves at home, don’t _touch_ that Roland”

Roland retracted his hand from a potion bottle he saw on the bookshelf and sighed as Elenor sat on the floor and closed her eyes, she started a little breathing exercise and in time, entered what appeared to be a trance.

“This might take a little bit” Roland warned him “She also needs quiet”

“That explains why you are still talking, then”‌ the Lord replied sarcastically.

*

He pulled the blankets tighter around his shoulders, he was shivering, his bones felt sore. and there was still no sign of his father. He tried to sit up in bed but it made him feel dizzy and it took almost all of his strength to keep his eyes open.

There were the occasional bouts of throwing up, but there was nothing to throw up because he hadn’t eaten in such a long time, simply bile and blood would come out, he spent fifteen minutes crying after one such bout.

“Father” he whispered, laying his head against the pillow and sobbing, what if he were to die and his father wasn’t here?‌ The doctor had left ages ago and Percy had been alone.

He counted the seconds, minutes and hours in between throwing up, he finally stopped shaking after a few hours, but he was feeling hot and had to shove the covers off onto the floor. There was nothing else for him to do, he needed to find his father, but he was so weak.

He pushed himself into a seated position, and grabbed at the edges of the bed to pull himself up, his bare feet hitting the hardwood floor hurt, it felt like a shock to his body to be in this position, he stood up regardless and nearly fell onto the floor.

He felt weak but determined, and when he made it to the door he opened it slowly….

*

There was a loud knock on the door of the hut, it had been fifteen minutes since Elenor started her meditation.

“What the hell?” Roland said in a hushed tone, he looked at Elenor who seemed undisturbed by the noise and crossed over to the door, there, the doctor was standing looking a mess, his hair flying every which way and an expression on his face that made the Lord’s stomach turn in on itself.

He didn’t even let Roland open the door all the way before he pushed the doctor back outside, shutting the door in Roland’s face, he grabbed the doctor by the shoulders “Why are you here?”

“Your son is _very_ ill, he is not going to make it. He told me he needs you”

The Lord pushed the man away from him “You left him alone?”‌

“He’s going to _die_, you need to understand this”

He grabbed the man by the shoulders and shoved him into the wall of the hut “No, you need to understand _this_, I will not lose my son. We _will_ find that potion and my son will live!”

“Stop shouting! I know how hard this must be to hear but your-”

“MY SON WILL NOT DIE” the Lord shouted, his voice cracking just a little bit, he sank down to the dirty cobbled steps of the hut and put his face in his hands “My son will live…”‌ he whispered “He will live…”

The door was opened by Roland who had a concerned look on his face “She’s finished”

“And?”

“She found it, it’s close.. being sold by a wandering traveler. We need to get to that man before anyone else does”

the Lord rose up and regained his composure, the four of them set off back down the paths, being led by Elenor who knew exactly where the location of the potion should be.

“What will happen when we get it?”

“Well, all we have to do is give it to your son”

“Provided he’s still alive when we get back”‌ Roland shrugged

The Lord gave him a withering look and rolled his eyes in disgust “Very nice of you to say that to a worrying father, perhaps you should keep your mouth shut, Mr. Faust?”

“I’m just trying to be realistic here, he’s very sick. Maybe he’s not even-”

“Shut up!” Elenor shouted “I‌ can’t focus if you’re going to be having a row back there, and Roland, please.. you are being incredibly insensitive, he’s obviously worried about his son, so shut your mouth”

Roland simply swallowed hard and made a face, crossing his arms in silence as they kept walking through winding paths, soon they found a smaller path leading back through another smaller village outside the city, and a man wandering on that path.

He was dirty looking, wearing overalls that looked worn and he had an expression of sadness that touched his older features, the Lord looked at Elenor for a moment and she nodded without him having to ask the question. He walked forward and held his hand back to stop the others from following him.

The man looked up at him with a quizzical face “Hello, Sir. What is it you wish?”

“You have something I‌ need, actually.. something my son needs. It’s an antidote to a poison.”

The man ruffled through his bags for a moment and procured a medium sized vial, it was a bright blue color inside and he held it out “is it this?”‌

“Yes” Elenor spoke softly from behind “That’s the one”

“I‌ will pay you anything” the Lord said “Anything you want, any amount of money for this..”

“I don’t want your money Sir” he gently handed the vial to the Lord, who carefully took it in both hands “This is for your son?”

The Lord nodded solemnly, and the man gave him a smile “That boy living is a gift enough for me”

Before the subject could even be argued, the man started to walk away, leaving the bag of his wares behind on the dirt path. The Lord closed his eyes for a moment.

“We have to head back to the city” Elenor said “Your son needs us”

*


	7. Will you Come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy tries to find something to do after recovering from his illness.

Several weeks had passed since Percy’s illness, though his father seemed to go back to not being concerned for him at all, Percy didn’t mind, the first few days his father was overly protective of him and wouldn’t let him do anything without people checking up on him to make sure he was alright.

He leaned back on the chair, he was in the library reading a book on the history of windmills when his father came into the room, Percy quickly sat up and took his feet off the table, shutting the book and placing it beside him.

“Percival, I‌ saw that.‌ You are not an animal, please stop acting like one”

“Animals read books?!” Percy gasped sarcastically “Someone should be studying this!”‌

“I never tire of your humorous jokes, my son, but do you not have anything better to be doing?”‌ his father asked as he sat down into the chair opposite with a book of his own.

“Ah, I‌ get it, you want quiet so you can read and you think I’ll ruin everything”

“By all means, you are welcome to stay here”

“Thanks for the permission to stay in my own home, father”‌

Percy leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the table once more, his father glanced at him for a moment and sighed, going back to his book. He spent a while staring up at the ceiling and ten minutes of silence later he coughed.

“Percival”

“I’m being quiet! It was a cough”

“What are you doing?”

“Relaxing”

“You can do that in _your_ room”

Outside the window on the far side of the room a bird had landed on the sill, Percy looked at it, it was bright blue and stood out among the dreary looking day outside.

“Look at that bird!” he said to his father, whose face was completely buried in his book, Percy got up and crossed over to sit near the window, the bird looked at him through the glass. “Come on, look at this.” he urged his father

“It’s just a bird, Percy”

“But it’s so beautiful, come on!”

His father let out a sigh and set his book down to join his son near the window, he studied the bird for a minute, and then he looked at his son.

“I’ve never seen a blue bird this close before”‌ Percy said “I always try to but when I get close they fly away”

“I wouldn’t have any idea what that’s like at all”

Percy, noting the sarcasm in his fathers voice scoffed “I don’t know what I’m more offended at, the notion that I’m a stupid bird or the idea that you try to get close to me”‌

His father looked as though he were about to respond but thought better of it, and then he cleared his throat “I…”‌

“Yes?”‌

“Nothing”‌ he crossed back to the chair and resumed reading his book, Percy pushed himself up from the window seat and crossed his arms “Ah, I see how it is, Lord Uptight can’t tell his son he _loves_ him, even though his son nearly died several weeks back”

“I am perfectly capable of expressing my feelings, Percival, and I do not need a reminder of what happened. I… do not wish to think about that”

“Too late, because I’m talking about it” he grabbed the book from his father and tossed it on the opposite chair “I‌ nearly died, father.”‌

“Yes, and you are fine now, so go away and let me read”

Percy crossed his arms angrily “You have absolutely no emotions whatsoever, fine, read your stupid book. I’m going out to the square”

His father made a non-committal noise as Percy left the library and headed through the halls to the main entrance, in his haste to leave he accidentally knocked over a large bucket of water, causing it to spill all over the floor.

The maid, this one’s name was Pearl; let out a long sigh and shook her head “Are you simply going to leave without taking responsibility for your own klutzy behavior?”

“I resent that, I‌ am not klutzy” Percy tried to step over the puddle but slid in it instead and fell hard against his backside. He let out a shout of pain and kicked out at the empty metal bucket, this ruckus was enough to pull his father out of the library. He walked into the foyer with his hands on his hips and a sour expression on his face “Percy…”‌ he said, moving a hand up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I slipped”

“I can see that”‌ he approached the puddle and extended out a hand for his son “Are you hurt?”

“No, and I don’t need your help, either”‌

As Percy tried to get up on his own he felt intense pain in his hip, pain that stopped him for a moment while he struggled to take in a full breath, his fathers hand was still extended and he looked at it for a second before taking it.

When he was upright, his father put both hands atop his shoulders “Son”

“I _know_, I’m reckless and careless and brainless and irresponsible and I don’t pay attention and you have a lot of things to say about how disappointing I am, but I don’t want to hear it right now, I want to leave”

“I have never said you are brainless, my son”

Percy pushed his father away from him “I don’t care, I’m leaving, if you need me… I will be in the square” he turned on his heel and stomped out of the foyer exit and down the stairs, he could hear the maid’s angry yelling about how he left her with the mess, and he carefully walked down the path to the gate.

It was a moderate day, the sky was a mix of fading blue and dark grey, it could have stormed at any moment but it seemed as though it were waiting for something, he looked around at the trees on the path as he came down into the village square, the place where all the shops were, the place where the large fountain was, and most importantly, the place he could see the harbor from.

He smiled as he looked over the view, ships were coming into port even now and he wondered briefly how many of them were pirate ships, besides Captain Morgan, he never even met a pirate before and had only read about them in books.

Books his father said were only fiction.

_“But there must have been pirates at some point, right?‌ Why else would there be so many stories of them?‌” _

_“Merely stories, do you believe everything you read in a book?”‌ _

_“I believe in adventure”_

His father had scoffed at this

_“Adventure?‌ do you think that’s honestly the lives that these people lead?‌ The most comparable thing to pirates in the real world are thieves, beggars and murderers. That should not be what you spend your time thinking about” _

_“I‌ simply thought they were neat stories, is all. I know that what lies ahead for me is not a life of adventure or happiness” _

He sighed at the memory, his father didn’t seem to understand that he only wanted to be happy, and this life he had picked out for his son did not lend to happiness, Percy was a very lonely child and he had no friends, the other rich kids would hate him because he was richer, and the poor kids would hate him because they thought he was a snob.

He was a bit of a snob.

But he did care for things, and people, unlike many of the aristocrats he had met in his life thus far, he cared in a way that wasn’t just for show or to make others nod along and say “what a great guy!”

He was also incredibly selfish, and unsure if those two things could coexist.

If he had the means to leave, he would, without looking back once on any of the memories he had shared here at his childhood home.

He sat on the edge of the fountain and watched the square for a while, people walking in and out of shops, hanging out in small groups and chatting to each other, some of them on dates, some of them just friends. He saw a blond man speaking to a pretty brunette girl who he knew worked in one of the shops around here, but he wasn’t sure which one.

Were the two dating?‌‌ _He seems awfully friendly with her_ he thought.

The man turned around for a moment and ran a hand through his messy blond hair and Percy recognized him as Elias Lumley, the eldest of another very rich and very snooty family that lived in Abelforth. Unfortunately, he spotted Percy on the fountain edge and gave a friendly wave, escorting his companion over.

“Well well well”‌ he said, his tone was already dripping with condescension and Percy fought to not roll his eyes “If it isn’t Percival Milquetoast”

“It’s not”

Elias let out a fake laugh “Don’t be so coy Percy, you do remember me do you not? Our families used to be quite close”

“Until you pushed me out of a four story window and broke my arm and my leg”

“That was so long ago! and I thought we had agreed that was simply an accident”

“My mother didn’t seem to think so” Percy said

“Ah yes, well your mother never really seemed to care for _my_ mother, and that dislike extended to me” he laughed again “We were ten years old, children do stupid things. Remember when you tried to set my hair on fire?”‌

This had in fact happened, but there was no ill intention behind it, he was simply holding a candle above Elias’ head and nearly lost his grip on it.

“But I didn’t, and your coat was the only thing that got singed”

“In any case, the past is in the past. ‌Where are my manners, this is my girlfriend Delilah Hastings”

Delilah did a polite nod, she looked bored in a way that he couldn’t explain, like she could stop existing at any moment and it would have been more entertaining for her.

“She and her father run the Hastings shop down the road”

Percy feigned interest in what Elias was saying as he usually did when they had known each other as young children, Elias had always been quite a bully to him, but pretended it was playful and friendly.

How pushing him out a window was playful, Percy still didn’t know.

“-I‌ heard your mother was traveling again” Percy caught bits of what Elias was saying and turned his attention to him once more, he simply nodded

“Does she ever stop? One would think she doesn’t want to be around her own child” he said, giving a pause before a false laugh “I’m just kidding of course. How is your father?”

“Dreadfully plain”

“That’s not a very polite way to describe your own father” Elias flashed a smile “Anyway, we’re running quite late, but I‌ would love to get our parents together for dinner some time, Ta”

He started to walk away, as soon as he was out of earshot Delilah sighed “I would like to apologize on behalf of everything he says and does, he’s an absolute arse”

“I grew up with him, I know”

“If you somehow get roped into a dinner with him, I’ll try to get myself invited just so you’ll have a buffer. If you remember his parents, they _are _worse than him. I want to die quietly in a room all on my own”‌

“Delilah, sweetheart?” Elias called out for her

She adopted a fake smile “Coming!” she said, and then turning back to Percy and whispered “If I can’t come to the dinner, please make sure he gets food poisoning”

She trotted off to join Elias again, and Percy shook his head, laying on his back and staring up at the sky, wishing he could forget that interaction, wishing he didn’t have to go home, wishing that he was on the sea…

What he wouldn’t give….

He closed his eyes for just a moment, but when he opened them again his father was calling out for him

“Percival?”

He froze, his first instinct was to run and hide, he didn’t want to go home, he wanted to stow away on the back of a ship and head to the other islands, head to other towns, to leave and never come back. He hopped off the fountain and quietly removed his shoes, tossing them into the fountain.

In the quiet of the evening, the shoes would make a loud noise upon the ground, Percy tiptoed away from the fountain and back up the path to the estate, making his way behind the house and into the stables where they kept their horses.

“Guys, I have no shoes on so don’t… don’t do anything crazy”

The horses all but ignored him, which they were prone to do unless he had food or was giving them a brush. He rolled his eyes and leaned over to fill a small tin with oats, while also carrying the larger bucket over to Damien, his favorite horse, who had quite a keen appetite.

Damien’s nostrils flared up and he seemed excited, Percy grabbed some of the oats in his hand and endured the incredibly odd feeling of having a horse nearly put his entire hand in it’s mouth.

“Damien, I’d rather you eat the oats, not my flesh and bones”

The horse responded with a snort of air out his nose, sometimes Percy thought the horse was smarter than he seemed, surely he was smarter than Percy’s own father.

“Percival, where on earth have you been?”‌ his fathers voice said from behind him as he came in the stables “And where are your shoes?”

“Craziest thing happened, I threw them in the fountain”‌ he said with a shrug

His father responded with a sigh “Get in the house Percy, I was out in the square looking for you. What were you thinking?‌ It’s after dark”

“Are you afraid I’ll catch some sort of madness or something?”‌ Percy asked quietly, staring at the horse as it nearly put his entire hand in it’s mouth. “Because you clearly cannot be bothered to care for my well being at all”

“Percy.”

“I tire of the way you say my name” Percy responded after a moment “I tire of it because it sounds like you’re describing something you don’t like, that you don’t care for, something that is a burden to you”

“Is that honestly what you think?”‌

Percy nodded slowly, refusing to meet his fathers eyes. “I’ve thought it all my life, Father.”

His father took a couple steps closer and stood beside his son “What exactly goes on in your head?”

“Imagine a child who is forgotten, imagine a child who barely had any friends and the only friends he did have were bullies that made him feel bad about himself, imagine being six years old and overhearing your father telling all his friends that his son is a disappointment….”‌ Percy still refused to look at his father, and his lip trembled as he spoke

“And then imagine that child was me”

“Why must you overreact _so_ much about everything that happens to you, Percy?” his father shook his head “You are not an unloved child!”

“Then why, father, why is your son standing right here telling you exactly how he feels and you still belittle and ignore those feelings?”‌ He felt a tear run down his cheek as he spoke and he kicked the bucket of oats over

“Percival, you are acting like a spoiled little child right now. Get in the house and go directly to your room, no food”

“Tell me”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me that you love me!” he shouted, unable to control himself at this point, he finally looked at his father with anger in his eyes “Tell me that I _mean_ something to you besides an heir!”

“Percival… this is-”

“If you say I am being ridiculous one more time, I promise you I will leave and I will never come back”

“Go to your room”

“I‌ suppose that’s my answer” he swallowed hard and walked past his father, shoving his shoulder against the man as he passed. He walked to the manor entrance, and then to his room with a lump in his throat that was nearly choking him, he shut his door.

And then he cried.


	8. Just Carry On

Not for the first time, Percival Milquetoast sat on his bed with the door shut, and a bookcase in front of it and the voice of Winston, the butler, on the other end. 

“Young Sir, Please just open the door”

“No” 

“I must insist”

“I must not, what is the purpose? I know you’re only doing it because father has asked you, and he only wishes to yell at me” 

There was a pause in which Percy could very obviously hear Winston whispering to someone else, he couldn’t make out what he was saying but he rolled his eyes anyway and hopped off the bed. He crossed over to his wardrobe and looked through some of his outfits. 

If he ran away, what would he take?

“Percival, please just open this door”

“Winston, please tell Father that I am no longer speaking to him”

“Lord, young Percival has stated that-” Winston began on the other side of the door. Percy could almost hear the eye roll in his fathers next words.

“I can hear him, Winston” 

Percy sighed, he looked at a jacket hanging in his wardrobe, he could very clearly remember day he bought it at the shops with his father. It was his eleventh birthday and he had slept in, only being woken when Winston knocked on the door with a note of happy birthday and a reminder that they were invited to a brunch that afternoon.

Percy remembered being angry that he wasn’t going to get a proper birthday celebration because of this brunch, his father promised to make it up to him by taking him to the shops afterwards, and he made well on his promise, letting his son by anything he wanted, Percy chose this jacket. 

He pulled it out of the wardrobe and brushed his fingers against the buttons, it was large on him as a child, maybe it would fit him better now? He placed it around his shoulders and let the sleeves hang off, it was a warm jacket, he had bought it during near spring when the chill was still in the air. 

He sat down on the bed, the sound of Winston having a whispered conversation outside his door was nearly drowned out by the sounds of the evening insects chirping and making angry hissing noises. 

“Percival.” his fathers voice said in the only tone it knew, disapproval. 

“I wish to sleep, I urge you to leave me alone” 

“I am your father, I wish to speak with you”

Percy paused for a moment and sighed, rising from the bed and towards the door, he pushed the shelf out of the way and opened the door. His father turned to Winston “Please, Winston, leave us”

“Very well, sir and young sir” the man said before heading down the hall and disappearing out of view. 

“Can we just get this over with? I’m a bad son, you’re a terrific father and-”

“Sarcasm is unbecoming of a smart young man like yourself” 

“Alright, you wish me to be truthful and normal? No mask, no pretending?” 

His father nodded “I would prefer to speak to my son and not have him make constant jokes, it seems as if you do not take it seriously when you do this”

Percy walked away from his father and back to the wardrobe, he grabbed a hat and put it on, he turned to the full length mirror that used to be in the drawing room until Percy nearly broke it. His reflection looked like that of a child, no shoes, trousers with mud flecks… His eyes locked onto his fathers reflection. 

“What do you want?” 

His father looked as though he wanted to say something, he tried once, twice, and then he just turned away and walked out of the room with a disapproving sigh and a shake of his head. 

Percy followed his father from a distance down the hall, and down the stairs, he knew his father was going back to his study, or to the reading room. He held his breath so as to not alert him, and just as he expected, his father headed into the reading room, he retrieved a book from the shelf and stared at it for a while. Percy watched him from a crouched position in the hall. 

Was this how all families were? 

He stared at his father reading for a while, maybe a minute, maybe longer. He felt like a child playing hide and seek. 

He sat against the wall, resting his eyes for a minute, maybe longer until he fell asleep. 

******************************************************************************

He woke up on the floor several hours later, he could already feel the stiffness in his back and neck as he tried to move. He groaned in pain and then looked around the corner to spot his father had fallen asleep with his book in hand. He stood up, quite painful at first as his body hadn’t moved from a very uncomfortable position for several hours, and then he walked into the reading room.

He took the book from his father and placed a bookmark in the spot where it was left off at and then gently shook him by the shoulder “Wake up”

He wouldn’t budge, so Percy crossed to the bookshelf behind his fathers chair and took a hardcover novel off of it, dropping it on the hardwood floor, in the quiet hours of night, it was deafening. His father bolted up in the chair and looked around, spotting his son and holding a hand to his chest

“What in the ruddy hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Excuse me, language!” 

His father cleared his throat and rose from the chair “Right, it appears I was rather exhausted and fell asleep whilst reading, I am off to bed, as you should be” 

“I just woke up” 

“It is three in the morning, Percy, I will not argue with you. Go to sleep”

“Isn’t that sentence the start of an argument?” 

His father stopped for a moment and gave his son a look, he shook his head “Please, Percy. I will not ask again”

“You haven’t asked once! You told me to, you always just demand I do this, and demand I do that. Did you even ask me if I wanted to go to any of your stuffy parties or brunches with you?” 

“I do not appreciate the tone you are using right now, my very young son” 

Percy was just about to respond to his father when he heard something just out in the hall, a crashing sound as if someone had fallen, he and his father hurried out of the room to find absolutely nothing amiss

“What in the-”

The lights all around the manor switched off all at once, and the two were bathed in darkness, Percy blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the dark. There was a sound of footsteps as someone made their way towards them.

“What was that crashing sound?” the voice of one of the maids pipped up

“Never mind that, the powers gone out.” Lord Milquetoast said “Percy, can you go fetch some lanterns, possibly the candles if you can find them”

“It’s dark!” 

“Feel around then” 

Percy groaned and carefully stepped around the furniture, and his father as he left the reading room and crept out into the hall. The entire manor was bathed in darkness except for a bit of the moon shining in through the windows. Percy heard a loud rumble outside the house.

Thunder

Well that explains the power outage he thought to himself as he tried to make his way to the linen closet where they kept the candles. Electricity wasn’t a common thing outside larger towns and you had to be rich to have it, it was still quite new and it wasn’t exactly reliable, this far up it was a miracle there was even anything to go around. 

But that’s what lanterns and candles were for, he supposed. 

He stopped as he heard a loud creak behind him, he turned around only to realize he wouldn’t be able to see, his eyes were still having trouble adjusting to the thick darkness.

as he stood in there, the thunder outside became louder and he heard rain droplets start to plink off the windows in the hallway. He wanted to go back to the reading room but his sense of direction was off, it was almost as if the entire house had changed around him. 

He heard the sound of footsteps running somewhere up ahead, he spun around “Hello?” he called out

Nothing in response.

“Hello? Father?” 

“Winston?” 

The rain continued pounding on the windows as he carefully walked ahead to one of the rooms off the side in the hall, as he entered the room the door slammed behind him. He grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it but it had somehow become stuck.

“Winston!” he shouted to no one

He realized where he was as a flash of lightning lit up the room, this was the entryway to a room his father didn’t allow him to go in, the door was always locked. He was certain that his father was hiding precious heirlooms in this room, when Percy was younger he had a habit of breaking things, it wasn’t always intentional - but his father tired of the young lad’s recklessness around the old heirlooms and must have locked them up in this back room.

He always thought the room was haunted.

He turned around to pound on the door some more, nobody was in the hallway, nobody could hear him screaming over the crash of thunder. 

“Hello?! Father! Someone please. This door is stuck, I can’t get out!” 

He wrenched on the door, but it wouldn’t budge and the thunder was getting louder - it almost felt like the sound was rocking the house back and forth, his vision was getting blurred and his heart full of terror.

“Someone help me!” he shouted again

As quickly as it started, it had ended and the room stopped shaking, the sounds lessened and the door opened with his father and Winston standing there, one with an expression of worry, the other with exasperation. 

“Percy, what in the world are you doing?”

“The door was stuck… I…”

“This door was not stuck, you need to stop messing about and be serious for once in your life, I asked you to do something and you go off to do such childish things” 

“But I wasn’t…” 

“Percival, I have had enough with your nonsense, now return to your room and get rest, tomorrow I will decide a punishment”

“Don’t worry, living with you is punishment enough”

******************************************************************************

Percy opened his eyes and winced - the bright morning sun was filtering in through the windows and shining right across his face. 

He pushed the covers off and took a little too long to get out of bed, adjusting the curtains to shut the sun out. 

“Sod off” he said as he closed the sun out of his room, hopefully for good 

“That’s not very nice, now is it!” a woman’s voice said from behind him, startling him and causing him to stub his toe off the table by the window

He turned around to see Ulla standing there with a look of disgust on her face “You screwed me over, Milquetoast” 

He raised an eyebrow in confusion “What did I do?”

“You totally bailed on me with the pirate gang, it was a set up, by the way… He wasn’t ever going to leave, and also it was fake treasure so you missed out on nothing, and Bradley is still a goat”

“That’s pretty convenient that you can sum up that whole story in just a few sentences”

“It’s a talent, anyway, what the hell.. I thought we were going to the warehouse together, it’s been ages”

“Uh” Percy hesitated

“Oh. Oh I see” she took a couple of steps forward “I see, so you think I’m not good enough to hang out with you, is that it? You’re the son of a lord, after all” 

“Ulla, I had to go with my father on a trip”

“Very convincing lie”

“I mean, I’d have him back me up on it but I’m not quite sure he’d be so gleeful to see that a woman has broken into my room, I must assume you did not come in through the front door” he said, eyeing the window 

“Fine, I climbed in through the window and fine, my fiance is a goat, and fine, the pirates lied and it was just a bunch of chests that tried to EAT me.” 

“Wait, the chests tried to… Never mind” he shook his head “Why are you here?” 

“Because of you, I have been made a mockery! I no longer have Captain Morgan”

“You never had him”

“I no longer have my Bradley”

“I didn’t curse him!”

Ulla crossed her arms and started pacing the length of the bedroom, she paused every so often to sniffle and wipe away a fake tear or two. “I’ve decided that I can no longer stay here, people are whispering behind my back about the curse, I… I have lost my reputation..”

“Is it really that important?” 

“It is to my father, to my family name… You’re a Milquetoast, you must understand the importance of public image” she turned to him “Since you bailed on me and let me almost get eaten by a chest… You have to help me get out of Abelforth”

Percy took a step back “No way! none of this is my problem… get yourself out of Abelforth”

“Fine, but you owe me someday, I hope you remember that. I may never come back to Abelforth, but I’ll give you some parting advice. Get out, get out while you still can, there’s nothing for you here and you know it.”

“I.. I don’t know about that I mean, I have…”

“What is it, Percival? What do you have? Because all I’ve seen is an overbearing father who may or may not hate you, and no friends” 

“I have friends” Percy said defensively, crossing his arms

“Who? Other rich kids? Yeah” She laughed bitterly “they don’t care about you, they care that you have more money than they do. I know you don’t believe me, but you’re better than this, and you could be so much more..”

She pushed him out of the way of the window and hopped onto the table directly in front of it “I really think you could do so much more, if you change your mind… Meet me at the harbour, but if not, I’ll see you around Milquetoast” 

And with that she descended the mansion carefully hanging onto the makeshift rope he had procured years prior. 

Was she right? he thought on this as he made his way downstairs to the breakfast table, it was set, but his father was nowhere to be found. 

He couldn’t help but wonder if what Ulla told him was even remotely true, he had a purpose here in Abelforth, he had a legacy, a family… 

“Percival, it’s rude to stand around. Sit” his father said, coming into the dinning room with a slight sigh as he took his chair. 

Percy followed suit, staring down at the smooth wooden table, it was made from dark oak he heard, something the poor folks could never afford. 

“Father”

“Yes, Percival?” 

“Do I have a purpose in… this family?”

“What kind of ridiculous question is that? You are my son” 

“And you don’t think that’s not a little bit sad… That I only exist to be your son?”

“Percy, what are you getting at?” 

Percy cleared his throat as Rosie came in with the food, she set the plates and serving dishes down gently in front of them. 

“Thank you” he said as Rosie disappeared into the kitchens, he shook his head “Nothing, father. It’s nothing”

“I am your father… If there is something bothering you then I… I want to hear about it”

Percy took the lid off his serving plate to reveal several well prepared and spiced fish dishes, a chunk of bread to be served with cheese that had been set in the middle of the table, there was a curried rice dish and several dressing options. 

He took a small bite of fish, chewed it thoroughly and swallowed, gulping down half the glass of water before speaking again. “It’s fine, I was being silly” 

To Percy’s surprise his father did not relent, he cut up a piece of fish and took a thoughtful bite, washing it down with a sip of tea. “Percival, just tell me what is wrong”

“Nothing”

“I can see that you’re upset…” 

“And? Why do you care?” 

His father answered this with a scoff and a sigh before returning his attention back to his plate.

“I honestly want to know, why do you care?” Percy repeated “Because no other time in my entire life have you ever not even for a second, cared about me or what I wanted or what I was feeling or-”

“Is this going to go on for much longer?” 

“See! You did it again!” Percy stood up from the table, knocking the water glass over in the process “You always dismiss my feelings, you always dismiss my worries. I ask you a question and you can’t even get me an answer” 

“I am not dismissing your feelings, Percy, now please sit down.”

“No”

“Please, sit down and eat” 

“I’m not hungry” 

“Then return to your room, I will not have your attitude ruining breakfast” 

Percy started to leave from the table, but before doing so he grabbed his glass of water and walked towards his father, who was multitasking with eating, and reading some pamphlet Percy couldn’t care less about.

He dumped the water over his fathers head. 

“Here’s a little advice for you, almighty Lord. Treat your son better” 

“Go to your room, Percival. This is not a game… I will be up in a moment to discuss your simply… bewildering behavior as of late” 

Percy crossed his arms, but he did as he was told - as always, making his way to his room and slamming the door in opposition to his fathers rules. He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment before reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing a piece of parchment and writing a note hastily. 

He folded the note and put it on his bed, then crossed over to the dresser - only grabbing a couple of things and shoving them into a rucksack he had kept under his bed. He tightened it, slung it over his shoulder and climbed over the table onto the ledge where the makeshift rope was hanging. 

He took one last look at his room, and descended the rope.


	9. New Horizons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gently put his rucksack down and sat against the dirty wall, he felt tired even though he had slept all night. He had no idea where the ship was headed, but the most important thing is that it was leaving Abelforth.

* * *

Percy looked up at the manor as he adjusted the rucksack on his shoulder. He turned away and started walking, he wanted to take a horse with him but he felt like it would tie him to this place more than he wanted.

So he just started walking, he walked out of the front gate and down the path to the port. He wasn’t sure if his father had found the note yet, but he doubted it, his father would be in his study thinking of how to belittle his son.

Percy would never have to deal with it again, he smiled at the thought of a new life, a new start.. He could go somewhere nobody else knew his name, he felt… _free_.

He broke into a run towards the harbour as the sun was shining down on the town center, he stopped on the docks and looked around at the people loading and unloading various things, he saw several men distracted by a tradesmen on the docks and he carefully snuck behind them and onto the ship.

He crouched to hide from view, there was nobody on the ship at that moment and he needed to get down into the depths of the ship to hide away before anyone saw, he came upon a small quarters in the back that was unused and looked as though it had been that way for some time, nobody would notice him there, or at least he hoped.

He gently put his rucksack down and sat against the dirty wall, he felt tired even though he had slept all night. He had no idea where the ship was headed, but the most important thing is that it was leaving Abelforth.

He smiled at the thought as he overheard voices of the men getting back on the deck above

“You believe that shit?” he heard, muffled but still understandable

“Yeah, her prices are high because she thinks that her looks will distract stupid sailors”

“Hey, we all gotta make a living.”‌

“Okay, so make a living driving the boat out of here”

“Where are we going?”

“Next delivery location”

“Fair enough mate”

The “next delivery location”‌ turned out to be a very bumpy several hour trip, Percy thought he was going to be sea-sick several times, and he was all too aware of the fact that he had not eaten breakfast.

The hunger pangs bothered him for a little bit until the exhaustion took over and he fell asleep, he had an odd dream where he was diving under the water looking for grains of rice for his father.

The ship rocked on the waves while he slept, and several hours after he had fallen asleep, he was woken up but an abrupt shaking. He opened his eyes and looked up.

There was one of the sailors, hands on his hips and a confused expression on his face. “What the hell? Who ordered a kid?”

“Uh…”‌‌‌ Percy hesitated and sat up, rubbing at his eyes “I-”

Another one of the sailors came down to join his mate “What are you yelling about?”

“We got a stowaway it seems”

“Ah jeez” the other man said “Kid, where are you going?”

“I… I don’t know, I..”

“Well we’re headed to Long Fern and Briar’s Glen to deliver some shipments. We can let you off in any of those places..”

Percy stood up, brushing off the dust from sitting on the floor of the dirty ship “I… I don’t exactly know where those are, I’m… I’m-”

“You’re a runaway, yeah yeah, Look, I don’t care if you’re the king. I don’t want you on my ship, I could be liable.”

“I’ll get off at Briar’s Glen.”

“Alright, now until we reach that… You can come up on the deck, we’re going to be making dinner soon, I’d feel awful guilty if I‌ let you go hungry”

“You don’t have to take pity on me” Percy said, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder “I could as easily just jump off the ship and swim to shore”

The man and his friend howled with laughter “Fat chance of that, mate… We’re already miles away from any land, you try swimming in it, you’ll die before morning.”

He put his hand on Percy’s shoulder and turned him towards the staircase going back up to the deck “Now stop being stubborn, and come eat with us. You can meet the crew”

“What if I don’t want to meet the crew?”

“Well, you’re going to anyway”

His friend made his way up to the deck first and then Percy and the other man came up, the man whistled loudly to get the attention of the crew “Dinner’s gonna be ready soon, also it appears we got a stowaway, and he’s going to eat with us”

Everyone started to drop what they were doing and pushed a bunch of boxes together, setting empty barrels next to them to simulate a dinning table set-up, and before everyone was even seated someone came up from below the deck with several wooden plates full of food and cups that were set along as well, everyone took a seat, including Percy.

He looked around the makeshift table “What about the captain?”

“Captain’s weird, he hates socializing, so he eats later when we dock”

“How do you have a kitchen on this ship?‌ I didn’t see anything when I was down there”

“Never you mind about that, anyway… where are my manners, I’m Patsy, who the heck are you?”

“Uh..” Percy hesitated, these men were docked in Abelforth and they seem to deal in transport and shipping, meaning that they’ve been there more than once, maybe they were even familiar with the area and the people in it.

“Ben” he blurted out “I’m Ben…”

“So why are you running away, Ben?”

“I hate it in Abelforth, I‌ hate the people”

“Ah” Patsy said, taking a large sip of what Percy had to assume was ale. “It’s a bit overwhelming, there’s a lot of rich people there that leave a bad taste in my mouth”

“That’s.. I …”

Patsy looked at Percy’s clothes and raised an eyebrow “Don’t tell me you’re one of those rich people”

“No no no, I’m not.. I’m… I guess not anymore”

One of the other men at the table snorted as he was in the middle of taking a bite of the meal, which Percy realized he hadn’t even looked at yet. “You’re telling me you ran away from a rich house just to stowaway on a ship?”

Percy looked at his plate, it was fish and rice, strangely similar to what he hadn’t eaten that morning except it wasn’t served on a fancy plate with proper utensils.

“Hey now, maybe Ben here doesn’t want to talk about why he left. This isn’t a place for judgement. Doesn’t matter who Ben was before, he’s with us now”

“You from Abelforth, Ben?” a mousy-brown haired girl asked from the other side of the table

Percy shook his head “Just lived there for a while, it’s not my home”‌ he lied, then started to poke at the meal with the wooden fish, suddenly his stomach growled.

“You should take a bite of that food, and not just play with it” the girl said with a laugh.

“I thought girls weren’t allowed on ships” Percy said, taking a bite of the rice, it was a lot better than he thought it would be - perfectly spiced and with a hint of lemon.

She shook her head “That’s a stupid old wives tale, it was just mother and father’s ways of discouraging both their children from risking their lives as sailors, or at least it was with my parents” she took another bite of fish and washed it down with a drink “But it’s so much better out here on the water”

“Don’t you get sea-sick?”

“I‌ used to, not so much anymore… you get your sea-legs. Hell, maybe you’ll get yours on this ship with us” she gave him a smile

Patsy slammed down the empty cup onto the table “Good meal gents, now It’s off to bed for Ol’ Patsy here”

“You have have crew quarters on this ship?”

Patsy nodded “Yeah, you can sleep in mine with me. I got a comfortable floor, better than the wooden floor you’d been sleeping on”

“I appreciate that, but I don’t want to sleep with you Patsy.”‌ Percy said with a grimace “No offense”

“Get a load of this asshole” Patsy said with a laugh “Alright kid, where do you want to sleep, you can’t bunk with Leonard. He’s paranoid someone’ll kill him in his sleep”

“That’s true” Leonard spoke up “I have night terrors as well, so I scream most nights”

“That’s lovely” Percy said

“You can bunk with Aurora. She’s not liable to kill anyone in her sleep” Patsy pointed to the mousy-haired girl “She’s also got snacks in there she’s been hoarding from the rest of the ship”

Aurora shook her head “I don’t hide them, it isn’t some big secret.‌ It’s food I bought with my own coin..”

“You stole most of that”

She shrugged and pushed her plate away, standing up and yawning, several others took her heed and left the table, either returning to their on deck duties or going underneath the deck to the crew quarters. Percy quickly finished up his food and bid a hasty goodbye to the rest of them, before following Aurora to her quarters.

“Now the first thing about not vomiting on a ship”‌ she said as they walked “You have to get used to putrid smells, hanging out with these guys will get you there fast”

They headed down the stairs and underneath the deck into the dank and dark storage area Percy had previously been sleeping, she fumbled around in the dark for a minute before unlocking a door that led down a hallway, and on each side there were doors leading to different quarters. She took a couple steps down and opened a door to reveal her own room, it was larger than Percy thought it would be, and brighter, she had several lanterns hanging from the low ceiling and candles lit on the desk, which was littered in pens and parchment.

He approached the table, the parchment looked a little more worn than he was used to, but it was almost the same as the paper he wrote to his father, the one sitting on his bed at home…

He wondered if his father..

_No_ _stop it, don’t think about him. You’re free. _

“It’s just parchment Ben, it’s… not treasure”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been staring at that parchment for five minutes”

He shook himself out of it and looked at Aurora sheepishly “Sorry, just… it’s been a long day”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

“So when will get to… ”

“We’re going to Long Fern soon, we’ll likely arrive there in the morning, It’s a fishing village so maybe you’ll get used to putrid smells sooner than I‌ thought” Aurora said while getting onto the cot.

“Why is it called long fern?” Percy asked, sitting on the floor and setting his rucksack down beside him, it was a little wrinkled up because he was using it as a pillow that morning.

“That’s a longer story than I‌ have the energy to tell, but the locals LOVE to tell that story, also, just a heads up… They are very _very_ friendly. I got hit on by men and women alike”

“You weren’t interested in any of them?”‌

“Hah no, my first love is the sea, my second love is.. Well… did you see the guy with the purple bandanna at the table?”

Percy nodded

“I’m in love with him, but don’t tell anyone, and especially don’t tell him.”

“How long have you been on this ship?”

“Oh we’ve all been together for about three years, it’s a lot of work traveling here and there, but these guys make it worth it. Ah, I wouldn’t know what to do without them - they are like my family”

“I wouldn’t know what that’s like” he said, looking around the room

“You don’t have a family?”

“I do.. but..”

She nodded “I understand, my real family wasn’t great to me either. But you gotta stiffen up, don’t let your emotions show. we’re stronger than that, sailors gotta be tough”

“I’m not a sailor” he shrugged

“You could be, you should be… If you’re looking for freedom, if you’ve longed for adventure… This was the best choice I ever made in my life.”

“I like being on the ground better. It doesn’t make me want to vomit as much”

“To each his own, but anyway… We oughta get some sleep. Long Fern is… quite the town, and then we’ll head to Briar’s, I think you’ll like it there”

Aurora tossed a tattered blanket over to him, he looked at it and then at her “Are you sure you don’t want this?”

“I don’t need it” she said, laying onto her side and grabbing a book from the small table in between “I’m going to read for a bit, if that doesn’t bother you… If I fall asleep before you do, can you be a darling and turn off the lanterns for me?”

Percy nodded

When the conversation died down and the only noise was the occasional page turn or the laughter of someone on deck, Percy half wanted to pull out his own book, but at the same time, he didn’t know if he had enough energy to focus on reading.

Soon Aurora had put down the book and the lanterns were turned off, the ship was all but quiet save for the occasional wave or gust of wind.

He pulled the blanket over his head, and for the first time since he left that morning, he started to feel less free, he started to wonder if he shouldn’t have left at all.

*****************************************

The next morning he was shaken awake once more by Patsy, who was wearing his hair up in a bun “Hey, Ben… We’re here”

“Where is here?”

“Long Fern, get up”

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, the room was empty other than him and Patsy, who was impatiently standing there with his hands on his hips.

“You know, I‌ can get up without you looking at me”

“Just making sure you’re not going to go back to sleep, come on, come into town with us. It’ll be fun”

Percy grabbed his bag and stood up, rolling his eyes at Patsy “You know, I can’t get a read on you - sometimes you’re very nice and other times you’re very annoyed”

“It’s my violent mood swings… you’ll get used to it”

“I’m not sure I want to” Percy replied as he and Patsy came to the deck, everyone else was already filtering off the ship, and the captain lazily yawned and made his way to the quarters

“You’re not coming with us?”

He shook his head “Nah, I’ve been here before.. It loses it’s charm after a while. Like my first, second and third wives”

“How delightful”

“They obviously thought I‌ was charming enough” the captain said with a grunt before heading away from the rest of the group. Percy looked at Patsy and the large man shrugged

“He’s just like that, don’t worry about it” he turned around “So we have shipments, some spices going to a local tavern, some fancy fruits”‌

“You want any help?”

“No offense kid, but I don’t think you could lift these boxes… bit heavy, you’re.. uh, wiry”‌ He grabbed one of the larger wooden crates and propped it over his own shoulder “My crew’s just a bit stronger than you, is all… We’ll be fine”

Percy kicked his foot out at the mans knee and he buckled under the weight of the crate, dropping it with a resounding crash.

“Apparently he’s not that strong” Percy said to the three men who were heaving crates off the ship and onto the docks, the man with the purple bandanna that Aurora mentioned laughed

“I like this kid Patsy, you should bring him onto the crew”

“I’d sooner shoot myself in the foot” Patsy said, gathering himself once more and lifting the crate “You can take one of the spice bags to the Eager Beaver tavern”

Percy nodded and grabbed one of the smaller sacks of spice, he slung it over his shoulder and stepped off onto the docks “Where is the tavern?”

“Up the alley and south, you won’t be able to miss it… It’s got a really obnoxious vibe to it”‌

“What does that even mean?”‌

Patsy laughed “You’ll know when you see it kid, now get going.. We don’t have all year”‌

Percy stared straight ahead, various people were unloading shipments or just coming into the docks, the sun was shining bright on the harbour and the sky was almost a blinding bright blue - he tried to remember the vague description of the tavern as he headed forward.

“Hey!” an older woman called out at him while he was walking past the workers and past the ships

“You!”

He started walking faster while painfully aware that the woman was now following him, he had no clue what she wanted but in his experience, people only ever paid him any mind when they wanted something from him, even if it was just to simply insult him.

He remembered this old man who he saw in the harbour of Abelforth, every single day this man would belittle him for even daring to be there, to sit there and watch the ships come in.

“You’re not like us, you’re not one of us”‌ he would say “Why don’t you go back to your mansion to live like a king?”

So he always would, return to the halls of the mansion that felt a bit like a prison to him in his younger years, because of this man he stopped going to the docks during the day and only made his way down there at night, sitting under the stars and watching the world.

“Young man!” the woman shouted from behind him

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as a hard object hit him and thudded to the ground, this startled him and caused him to drop the sack of spices he had been lugging around.

He turned around and looked down to find a jagged rock sitting in the dust. He looked back up at the woman who had now caught up with him

“Are you deaf or something?”

Percy grabbed the rock and turned it over in his hand, almost convinced he would see blood on it. He didn’t.

“No…” he said, pocketing the rock and rubbing the sore spot on his head.

“Well what kind of a young man ignores his elders?”

“What kind of old woman throws rocks at kids?!”‌

“I‌ need someone to help me, and you look like just the young man to do it” she put out her hands and gave him a balled up parchment‌ “I‌ need you to deliver that to my Orin.”

“And why exactly can’t you do it yourself?” Percy asked, eyeing the woman’s hands, which she still hadn’t put down.

“Because she’s been missing for quite some time.. Last place anyone saw her was near Briar’s Glen but it’s been so long since I’ve heard any news..”

“So if she’s been missing and nobody has been able to find her in all this time, what makes you think _i’m _going to be qualified for this job?”

The woman stuck her hand in the pocket of her worn tunic and handed him a necklace “This was hers, it’s very special.”

“Then why are you giving it to me?”‌

“Because” she closed her eyes “When the time comes, you will understand…. now can you do me a favor young man?”

“What?”

“Close your eyes”

Percy didn’t want to listen to her anymore, but he also didn’t want to argue with her and risk getting a punch to the back of the head…. he closed his eyes and stood there in silence for a moment, she spoke again

“When you find her, please tell her that I’m sorry… She was the only one I‌ ever loved, but I didn’t know that at the time… I was wrong”

“I’m sorry, but isn’t that included in the letter?” he asked, his eyes still shut tight, there was no answer.

He opened his eyes and looked around, but there was no sign of the woman anywhere. He shook his head and bent over to pick up the sack of spices once more and continued on the path.

It was a beautiful day in the village, a light breeze was blowing past his ears as he looked out for the street signs to direct him the right way, there were a couple of children sitting against the side of the path playing a game they had made up with marbles.

When he was a kid, he was more likely to be found in his room or in the library than outside with others, he knew other children of course - but he never really related to any of them, they were just other rich kids.

Before he knew it he was standing outside of the Eager Beaver tavern, which was decorated on the outside with what Percy desperately wanted to assume was a fake beaver skull, but his instincts told him otherwise.

He grimaced and pushed the door open with great difficulty due to the weight over his shoulder unbalancing his entire body.

The interior of the tavern was just as anyone could expect, dark, dank and smelling of booze with light chatter carrying on at one of the far end tables. Percy looked around for the bartender or inn keeper or anyone who would take these spices off his hands before they crushed the bones of his shoulder.

“Hey, you the spice guy?” a red-haired man behind the bar called out

Percy shook his head “I’m not, but I have your spices”

“Well that doesn’t make a lick of sense, but hand over those spices son”

Percy dropped the spice sack on the floor in front of him and gave the bartender a smirk, the man rolled his eyes and shooed him away.

“Oh come on, I wasn’t even paid for this delivery. I was forced to come up here _and_ an old lady hit me in the back of my head with a rock”

The man chuckled as he came out from behind the bar and lifted the sack over his shoulder “You must have met Agnes, she’s the local colorful… character, I guess you could say”

“She could have killed me!”

“You’re a very privileged boy if the only injury you’ve ever gotten has been a slight bump on the head” he motioned for Percy to sit down on one of the stools and started preparing iced lemon water, which is slightly sweetened to cut down on the bitterness of the lemons, he set it in front of Percy, who stared.

“I don’t have any money” he said, which was the truth - he had left his coin purse on the ship in Aurora’s cabin

The bartender shook his head “Nah, even if you did, your money isn’t good here. Just have a nice drink”

Percy obliged and took a sip of the drink, it was quite refreshing after lugging the heavy spices up the narrow streets. He took a breath and was overwhelmed by the smell of strong alcohol as a drunk man leaned over the bar

“Hey!” he shouted at the bartender, who was rearranging the alcohol bottles on the shelf, he turned around and rolled his eyes

“Hendrick, don’t do this again”

“I need another one”

“Hendrick, we’ve discussed this. You are cut off after three”

“THREE ISN’T ENOUGH!” Hendrick shouted

“Hen, I’m going to have to ask you to leave before you cause any damages, remember, if you do this’ll be your third strike”

The man groaned and dejectedly moved to the door, mumbling something about how he wanted more than three, and how he hated this tavern anyway.

“What’s-” Percy started to ask, but the bartender shook his head

“That’s Hendrick, he’s always drunk and when he’s not, he’s always trying to get drunk. I‌ wouldn’t serve him one time and he started drinking the dirty swamp water to see if it would get ‘em high”

“And did it?”

“No… kid, it made him sick all over my floor”‌

Percy sat there finishing his drink and then jumped off the stool “Well, I’ve delivered the spices… I should head back to the ship”

“You kidding me?‌ You know damn well the crew you hauled in here with ain’t leaving so soon”

“How do you know?”

“Sailors are predictable, they come in for a shipment and stay for a couple days longer than they’re supposed to, it don’t matter to me though if I‌ get their money”

“Well, what about a place to sleep?”

“Old Odvin Sjogren runs the inn up the hill but he gets mad if you pronounce his name wrong”

“How is it pronounced?”

“Odwin Whergrin”

“Whergrin?”

The man nodded “Just… he’s a little over enthusiastic about guests even though he’s the only inn in town and gets guests all the time.” he shrugged

“He sounds lonely”

“Yeah anyway, you should head up there. He stops letting people in past five”

Percy felt like the bartender was trying to get rid of him so he could more efficiently pretend to wipe down the bar, but it didn’t bother him that much - he wanted to be out of the dimly lit bar as quickly as possible. The smell of strong liquor was making him feel a little lightheaded.

After leaving, he looked around for the crew then quickly popped back inside the bar for a moment “Hey, where would sailors go around here?”

“Check the center square, they always go there to leer at the ladies”‌

“Thanks”‌

_‌_ ‌_‌‌‌ _ ‌***

The center square was moderately busy when Percy arrived there, many people set up shopping tables and in the middle of the square leaning against a low wall was Patsy, who nodded when he saw Percy.

“You get the spices to the tavern?”

Percy nodded “The bartender told me that people usually stay here for a few days after coming in, is that true?”

“I mean yeah, it ought to be… I know you’re not familiar with sailing but it’s exhausting, you’re not gonna wanna head right back out after docking, I can assure you that”

“So will you sleep on the boat or at the inn?”

Patsy shrugged

“Sleep wherever I’m comfortable I guess, also if you don’t want to make a fool of yourself… It’s not a boat, it’s a ship”

“What’s the difference?”

“The difference is, if you ever meet a sailor or a pirate and you call their ship a boat, they’ll ram you with it and leave you to drown”‌

“You ever met any pirates?”

“Just Quincy, he’s retired now and spends most of his time up in Layelle, but he was a wimp, nothing at all like the stories you’ve no doubt read, kid.”‌

“I’ve read a lot of stories, and according to them… pirates can be any kind of person, they aren’t always violent and mean”

“But I bet it helps their image if people think they are, now… leave me be, I’m going to hang out here a little longer and see if anyone’ll strike up a conversation with me”

“Where are the others?”

“Hunkering down on the ship, are you going to join them?”

“I wanted to go sleep at the inn, there’s just something about not vomiting from sea-sickness in my sleep that gets me”

“Sleep on the ship kid, we’ll stay a couple days and you’ll get to be in the inn tomorrow night, you need your sea legs”

“You can’t pick where I want to sleep”

“We’ll leave you on an island if you don’t listen to me”

Percy thought on this for a moment and resisted the urge to sarcastically reply, he nodded and headed back down towards the docked ship in the harbour where he spent the rest of his night.


End file.
